【 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.
[ She gets why he's apologizing, and she gets that he's little stiff in general, even if she doesn't have the full context for the reason why. She waves it off nonchalantly, reaching for the covers and draping them over him more, so he can stay warm. ]
Oh, no worries. They dump people in each other's rooms here all the time.
[ Which is an annoyance she doesn't really want to accept, but she'll take someone she'd love to have as an ally over a complete stranger.
To make him feel at least a little more at ease she'll share some information: ]
[ oh, that's kind of her, to place the blankets around his shoulders. it's definitely a little chilly with no clothes on.. and dan heng is a bit sensitive to cold. she'll feel that his skin is a little more cool than most, if her fingers brush against him. ]
Is that so..
[ he tugs the blankets a little more tightly around his shoulders. ]
[ The sensation of cool scales are what finally get Topaz to take a proper look at her bedmate. She knows that feeling: shortly before arriving here, she had finished acclimating three baby Vonwacq lizards to their new home in her eco ship. Did Dan Heng always have horns???
No, her memory like a steel trap. She would have remembered a detail like that. She doesn't hide that she's looking but she's not so rude that she'll openly gawk at the changes. ]
For some spaces, yeah. Other suites flowed right into others so the only way you could tell where one ended and began was the way they were decorated.
[ he sure did not!! well. i mean, okay, technically yes he has always had them, but they were hidden well beneath his cloudhymn-woven disguise. they certainly do stand out, a bit.
he notices the way her eyes flicker up toward them, but he cannot blame her for her curiosity. even among the vidyadhara, those with horns are exceedingly rare. ]
I see.. that sounds like a nightmare, if I'm honest.
[ reclusive as he is, dan heng very, very much appreciates his alone time. ]
I take it that you have been here for some time, then.
Always happy to share intel with the Astral Express.
[ She says that much without hesitation. The explanation will take a little more effort. Sharing a world has the benefit of shared knowledge, so she at least doesn't have to start from scratch. ]
I trust you're familiar with the Imaginary Tree theory from the Data Banks: The branches of possible worlds growing out infinitely in the universe, never touching.
This place and its "Game" bring those branches together. They're after the reaction that comes from that "impossibility."
[ intel is what it's all about. he wasn't sure at first if she would want to give away the information for free, but really, when it comes to the ipc, topaz has always been reasonable and not unkind.
dan heng nods, a thoughtful frown curving his mouth as he taps his knuckles to his chin. ]
So a.. nexus, of sorts. A place where branches overlap. I can imagine that such a thing might generate immense power. In bringing all of us here, it would seem that they've at least begun to accomplish something - the ability to tap into these branches, even if they haven't interconnected it all just yet.
If the diary entries we've found are legit, this place has had the power to pluck people from the branches, but it's still mostly on us to make them connect.
That's where Game 52, the hedonistic atmosphere and the various incidents come in.
And if you're wondering— when people from the same world have sex, it contributes your deck in the game, but not to the connections this place is aiming to gather.
[ she grumbles into a pillow in frustration. ]
If it isn't about sex, and connections between people in the same world don't matter, the game doesn't make sense.
[ if they're looking to connect worlds, building energy between those already from the same world wouldn't be as potent, would it? dan heng frowns, his brow tightening. ]
Perhaps if it isn't about sex specifically, it's about energy. Energy built through physical connection.
[ he drops his hands into his lap, folding them. ]
And like, if anonymous sex counts, then the vulnerability of being with someone prolly isn't a factor. Besides, everyone's got their own perspectives on that.
[ some people (not her) have zero hang ups about sex. ]
I guess an impossibility energy farm is better than a sex energy farm, but it still doesn't answer the question of why it has to be sex. The system just seems inefficient in general.
Perhaps it's more about the energy generated by the act itself.
[ honestly, if he weren't here against his will, this would be a rather fascinating puzzle for dan heng to work out. the enjoyment is a little spoiled, however, by the nature of his presence here. ]
It's an incredibly intimate act, and usually.. vigorous, as well.
It sounds like we simply need more data to work with, before reaching the appropriate conclusion. Still, thank you for sharing what you know, with me. I appreciate it.
[ and he will surely keep it all in the back of his mind. ]
no subject
Oh, no worries. They dump people in each other's rooms here all the time.
[ Which is an annoyance she doesn't really want to accept, but she'll take someone she'd love to have as an ally over a complete stranger.
To make him feel at least a little more at ease she'll share some information: ]
One time they even connected the suites.
no subject
Is that so..
[ he tugs the blankets a little more tightly around his shoulders. ]
Connected? With doors? Or another way?
no subject
No, her memory like a steel trap. She would have remembered a detail like that. She doesn't hide that she's looking but she's not so rude that she'll openly gawk at the changes. ]
For some spaces, yeah. Other suites flowed right into others so the only way you could tell where one ended and began was the way they were decorated.
no subject
he notices the way her eyes flicker up toward them, but he cannot blame her for her curiosity. even among the vidyadhara, those with horns are exceedingly rare. ]
I see.. that sounds like a nightmare, if I'm honest.
[ reclusive as he is, dan heng very, very much appreciates his alone time. ]
I take it that you have been here for some time, then.
no subject
[ She stares into space, as if her soul wants to leave her body just thinking about that. ]
And that didn't happen to me, thankfully, but I know people who had to deal with it. But waking up next to someone isn't new.
no subject
[ his brows fly high. honestly? his soul wants to leave his body at the idea, too. he's already missing his cozy floor bed nest in the archives.. ]
I see. Is that their way of attempting to foster new relationships, I assume?
no subject
[ She repeats it for emphasis, because in some ways, she hasn't fully processed it herself. ]
Yeah. One of... a lot. It's better to assume anything free has an aphrodisiac or some other whatever to encourage sex in it.
Crazy enough though— like, I've heard it isn't sex that's driving it all.
no subject
No? [ dan heng glances upward, and into her face. ] Then I wonder what their aim might be..
[ if not to make them bone down constantly and consistently, why such a laser focus on sex, and promoting it? ]
Would you mind telling me what you've heard?
no subject
[ She says that much without hesitation. The explanation will take a little more effort. Sharing a world has the benefit of shared knowledge, so she at least doesn't have to start from scratch. ]
I trust you're familiar with the Imaginary Tree theory from the Data Banks: The branches of possible worlds growing out infinitely in the universe, never touching.
This place and its "Game" bring those branches together. They're after the reaction that comes from that "impossibility."
no subject
dan heng nods, a thoughtful frown curving his mouth as he taps his knuckles to his chin. ]
So a.. nexus, of sorts. A place where branches overlap. I can imagine that such a thing might generate immense power. In bringing all of us here, it would seem that they've at least begun to accomplish something - the ability to tap into these branches, even if they haven't interconnected it all just yet.
no subject
That's where Game 52, the hedonistic atmosphere and the various incidents come in.
And if you're wondering— when people from the same world have sex, it contributes your deck in the game, but not to the connections this place is aiming to gather.
[ she grumbles into a pillow in frustration. ]
If it isn't about sex, and connections between people in the same world don't matter, the game doesn't make sense.
no subject
[ if they're looking to connect worlds, building energy between those already from the same world wouldn't be as potent, would it? dan heng frowns, his brow tightening. ]
Perhaps if it isn't about sex specifically, it's about energy. Energy built through physical connection.
[ he drops his hands into his lap, folding them. ]
I'm sure we're still missing vital information.
no subject
[ some people (not her) have zero hang ups about sex. ]
I guess an impossibility energy farm is better than a sex energy farm, but it still doesn't answer the question of why it has to be sex. The system just seems inefficient in general.
no subject
[ honestly, if he weren't here against his will, this would be a rather fascinating puzzle for dan heng to work out. the enjoyment is a little spoiled, however, by the nature of his presence here. ]
It's an incredibly intimate act, and usually.. vigorous, as well.
no subject
I should prolly ask someone if just watching other people counts. If it does... I'm not sure how to wrap my head around it.
no subject
[ and he will surely keep it all in the back of his mind. ]
no subject
[ It might be too early to call him a friend, but he has her respect. ]
Please let me know if there's anything else I can do. If my year here can spare you even a little guesswork, I'll answer any questions you've got.