【 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.
[ One of the elites? Even as a P44 Director in the IPC she doesn't think that label applies to her. She's still the girl from a once-desolate, far off planet. She can't help the way her nose wrinkles thinking about it. As an Ace, she's not quite in the same position, anyway. Sometimes, she's at the top, other times she's at the bottom. ]
I guess you could say that.
[ She'll take a seat and snag a glass of champagne from a server passing by. ]
I don't mind the food and alcohol, but I'm not a fan of smoking.
[Champagne is... fine. Sunday should take some as well, if only to look the part, otherwise he might begin to raise suspicions with this young lady about his true identity and his lack of belonging in the lounge. So he does, stem of the glass delicate between his gloved fingers — but in truth he doesn't really wish to drink it. Anything that would alter his senses feels wrong in this setting, regardless of how minor.]
No, well, you shouldn't be. It isn't good for your health.
[Not that it ever would have mattered in the Dreamworld of Penacony. Here, though, they aren't indulging in their dreams.]
[ No mention of her title or the IPC, because in The House, the megacorporation that gave her power and influence has no pull. The most efficient and productive approach is to give people the information that's most pertinent to them.
Her rank isn't one she's proud of— she finds the ranking system awful in general, so it's hard to look anything but annoyed when she makes that admission. On the other hand, it's ungrateful to frown on the comfort given to her through Aventurine's efforts and Kirma's generosity. ]
Alcohol isn't much better for us, but it's kinda hard to find a veggie smoothie in a place promoting hedonism and indulgence.
His gaze lifts to the young woman's face, studying those unfamiliar features with more scrutiny this time. The possibility seems astronomically low, given that he has met no one else he recognizes in this place — but he's no stranger to chance. And hadn't he once looked up into the eyes of another senior manager of the IPC not long ago, unexpectedly lending him aid and freeing him from punishment? He sorts through his mind, thinking back on anything else he'd found in his research into the Strategic Investment Department. What did he know about Topaz? A better question — what would she know about him? Certainly his face. But how much other information had they all shared among each other?
Sunday realizes he'll look suspicious if he pauses much longer, so he answers:]
Wonweek. 10 of Clubs. [The number because it's the lowest on the list allowed in the lounge; the suit because it's not hers, so if she asks him questions about it, there's a chance he can get away with bluffing.] I don't have an opportunity to meet royalty like an Ace too often. I suppose that's why I've found it hard to socialize, I don't quite feel like I... fit in. As you might have noticed, I'm not used to indulging, either.
[ of the three involved in the Penacony operation, Topaz is the researcher, poring over whatever she can find, analyzing it from every angle. She would know Sunday's face, that he's the head of the Oak Family, and whatever info the IPC had on the history of Penacony. His abilities would be a bit of a blank, which is why she couldn't help Aventurine prepare for every little thing that would be thrown at him.
Unlike her partner and their mentor, she's got a dreadful poker face.
At the mention of royalty, she pulls back, nose wrinkling, mostly because she never sees herself as more than an IPC director or Jelena from a planet too far away to Matter. ]
Aces are different. Sometimes we're treated like the face cards. Other times, we're lower than 2s. It just depends.
And like, if you don't wanna indulge, you don't have to. Just because The House wants you to do things, doesn't mean you have to if you're not feeling it.
[There's no recognition on her face when he mentions the name of his disguise, which isn't too surprising. The only ones who would know it are the Astral Express, and he expects they'll keep his secrets in confidence. It is... strange to think of them as allies now, even if he is not one of the Trailblaze himself.]
That's interesting. Though it must be difficult to navigate, if your position is an unstable as you say.
[One day affixed at the peak of royalty; another day, the lowest possible echelon in the hierarchy that rules this place. Sunday takes a very small sip from his glass before he speaks again.]
Is that true? I'd heard other things... namely related to the suits. The influence they exert over time. Do you know anything about that?
I still get to keep a suite on the same floor as the Jacks. I've been down to where the 2s are. It's...
[ she shudders thinking about it. The basement suites for cards 2-4 are what drove her into Aventurine's room. ]
Totally cursed. One time the basement was infested with dog-sized bugs. It like, flooded, too. It's suuuuper inhumane, but like, the most The House offers is an apology. No compensation.
[ she huffs and shifts uncomfortably. Not even champagne can dull the unease. ]
The House won't admit to it, but there are statues— crazy-levels of lifelike ones— that look exactly like people who were here. But then they'd go missing, and their contact info erased from the directory.
Don't bother asking staff— they'll dodge questions about it.
[Cursed. A strange word to use, almost superstitious in its implications, but it isn't the first he's heard it thrown around. Evidently there are ghosts living in this place alongside them — or at least some sort of projection, entities beyond what their primitive senses can perceive. It doesn't sit comfortably with him. He remembers those phantom hands, that force dragging him into the party...
And inhumane? Sunday doesn't like to hear this. Why would some of the guests be made to live this way in a resort priding itself on luxury and hedonism?]
Thank you for the information. Since I'm rather new here, I wasn't aware of the extent of such... inequities among the population. [To Put It Lightly. Haunted statues? Mentally bookmarked.] As a 10, I've only seen privilege and wealth on display.
[ To reduce the unfair practices here to "inequities" is a level of delicacy Topaz doesn't have the grace for. She snorts again, more irreverent, uncaring of The House's many eyes and ears. They've already called her out on her distrust; what more could they do? ]
I'd imagine there's more universes where imbalance exists than ones that are equitable or just.
The system exists to encourage the lower cards to play Game 52 and rank up.
[It's a good answer. Direct but not specific, and it forces him to be a little more aggressive with his wording. He's never... enjoyed that. As necessary as it could be in the enforcement of Order, it always felt — wrong. Making a piece fit that didn't belong there.]
So, the lower your rank is the more you are motivated to participate. And those who already exist at the top — often there's a reason they've made it there. They've learned to play the game, or... they were lucky.
[How did Miss Topaz become an Ace? He doesn't ask outright.]
You don't seem happy with the system in place here.
[ How she got to be an Ace is something she's been ordered by the House not to share. And while she is the first to toss out any rules she finds unproductive, it is not in her best interests to break this one.
Because she is lucky in a way: she has a partner willing to help her. What do people who show up here alone do? ]
Essentially, yeah. A low-ranked player can also make friends with guests on higher floors and room with them, but that can be unstable: ranks can shift, suites can merge...
[ It defies logic to the point where she has to rub at a temple. What's the point of working in a system if it can be upended? So annoying. ]
It's unstable and pushes people to do things they don't wanna.
[He withholds anything personal about himself or his own circumstances, because it's obvious either way.]
Nothing should be done against anyone's will. There must be a reason for such forced compliance, then — something that stands as the goal or outcome. And it must be... significant.
[And what would that be, in a place seemingly fixated on sex...? Sunday can't begin to guess.]
[ She doesn't push; they've just met, after all. But she nods to acknowledge those feelings. Even if the situation is frustrating, it's validating to know that she's not the only person who feels concerned. ]
[And there's a clear discomfort, almost reluctance to this admission.]
What would be the purpose of encouraging — physical intimacy? I don't know enough about what would be gained through that, except perhaps the simplest conclusion of... entertainment.
[ She understands his reluctance and empathizes with it. Despite that, she doesn't have hang ups about the lewd acts themselves, just a setting that makes them a must. ]
Like sex specifically? I don't know. I know they want people from different universes to connect, but no one's explained why it's gotta be through sex.
Maybe sex is more efficient than a deep emotional connection?
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peacockstop2025-01-15 09:00 pm
no subject
I guess you could say that.
[ She'll take a seat and snag a glass of champagne from a server passing by. ]
I don't mind the food and alcohol, but I'm not a fan of smoking.
no subject
No, well, you shouldn't be. It isn't good for your health.
[Not that it ever would have mattered in the Dreamworld of Penacony. Here, though, they aren't indulging in their dreams.]
May I ask your name?
no subject
[ No mention of her title or the IPC, because in The House, the megacorporation that gave her power and influence has no pull. The most efficient and productive approach is to give people the information that's most pertinent to them.
Her rank isn't one she's proud of— she finds the ranking system awful in general, so it's hard to look anything but annoyed when she makes that admission. On the other hand, it's ungrateful to frown on the comfort given to her through Aventurine's efforts and Kirma's generosity. ]
Alcohol isn't much better for us, but it's kinda hard to find a veggie smoothie in a place promoting hedonism and indulgence.
So, what's your name?
no subject
His gaze lifts to the young woman's face, studying those unfamiliar features with more scrutiny this time. The possibility seems astronomically low, given that he has met no one else he recognizes in this place — but he's no stranger to chance. And hadn't he once looked up into the eyes of another senior manager of the IPC not long ago, unexpectedly lending him aid and freeing him from punishment? He sorts through his mind, thinking back on anything else he'd found in his research into the Strategic Investment Department. What did he know about Topaz? A better question — what would she know about him? Certainly his face. But how much other information had they all shared among each other?
Sunday realizes he'll look suspicious if he pauses much longer, so he answers:]
Wonweek. 10 of Clubs. [The number because it's the lowest on the list allowed in the lounge; the suit because it's not hers, so if she asks him questions about it, there's a chance he can get away with bluffing.] I don't have an opportunity to meet royalty like an Ace too often. I suppose that's why I've found it hard to socialize, I don't quite feel like I... fit in. As you might have noticed, I'm not used to indulging, either.
no subject
Unlike her partner and their mentor, she's got a dreadful poker face.
At the mention of royalty, she pulls back, nose wrinkling, mostly because she never sees herself as more than an IPC director or Jelena from a planet too far away to Matter. ]
Aces are different. Sometimes we're treated like the face cards. Other times, we're lower than 2s. It just depends.
And like, if you don't wanna indulge, you don't have to. Just because The House wants you to do things, doesn't mean you have to if you're not feeling it.
no subject
That's interesting. Though it must be difficult to navigate, if your position is an unstable as you say.
[One day affixed at the peak of royalty; another day, the lowest possible echelon in the hierarchy that rules this place. Sunday takes a very small sip from his glass before he speaks again.]
Is that true? I'd heard other things... namely related to the suits. The influence they exert over time. Do you know anything about that?
no subject
[ she shudders thinking about it. The basement suites for cards 2-4 are what drove her into Aventurine's room. ]
Totally cursed. One time the basement was infested with dog-sized bugs. It like, flooded, too. It's suuuuper inhumane, but like, the most The House offers is an apology. No compensation.
[ she huffs and shifts uncomfortably. Not even champagne can dull the unease. ]
The House won't admit to it, but there are statues— crazy-levels of lifelike ones— that look exactly like people who were here. But then they'd go missing, and their contact info erased from the directory.
Don't bother asking staff— they'll dodge questions about it.
no subject
And inhumane? Sunday doesn't like to hear this. Why would some of the guests be made to live this way in a resort priding itself on luxury and hedonism?]
Thank you for the information. Since I'm rather new here, I wasn't aware of the extent of such... inequities among the population. [To Put It Lightly. Haunted statues? Mentally bookmarked.] As a 10, I've only seen privilege and wealth on display.
[And then, gently probing —]
Was your world comparable to this at all?
no subject
I'd imagine there's more universes where imbalance exists than ones that are equitable or just.
The system exists to encourage the lower cards to play Game 52 and rank up.
no subject
So, the lower your rank is the more you are motivated to participate. And those who already exist at the top — often there's a reason they've made it there. They've learned to play the game, or... they were lucky.
[How did Miss Topaz become an Ace? He doesn't ask outright.]
You don't seem happy with the system in place here.
no subject
Because she is lucky in a way: she has a partner willing to help her. What do people who show up here alone do? ]
Essentially, yeah. A low-ranked player can also make friends with guests on higher floors and room with them, but that can be unstable: ranks can shift, suites can merge...
[ It defies logic to the point where she has to rub at a temple. What's the point of working in a system if it can be upended? So annoying. ]
It's unstable and pushes people to do things they don't wanna.
no subject
[He withholds anything personal about himself or his own circumstances, because it's obvious either way.]
Nothing should be done against anyone's will. There must be a reason for such forced compliance, then — something that stands as the goal or outcome. And it must be... significant.
[And what would that be, in a place seemingly fixated on sex...? Sunday can't begin to guess.]
no subject
Any guesses on what their goal is?
no subject
[And there's a clear discomfort, almost reluctance to this admission.]
What would be the purpose of encouraging — physical intimacy? I don't know enough about what would be gained through that, except perhaps the simplest conclusion of... entertainment.
no subject
Like sex specifically? I don't know. I know they want people from different universes to connect, but no one's explained why it's gotta be through sex.
Maybe sex is more efficient than a deep emotional connection?