【 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.
[ Gazing at him from over the top of the cuffs as they exchange hands, Lighter considers the options. It's not the worst offer to get when nothing but unchecked revelry is guaranteed, and even that concept has facets, faces he can't see just yet. Not from where he's standing, totally new. Having woken up here feeling like he'd become unmoored from reality, it's been go, go go — up from the unnerving, stationary vehicles, through the resort, into the party. Clocks don't work. Everything that means anything to to him has been shorn away. He'd be lying, if he said he needed longer to sort out what he's really going to do, but...
Play the game does seem simplest in the short term. ]
I might have to take you up on that, if they're really going to put me into debt twice over. [ That possibility sounds tense in his throat. ] You know, I don't really have many addictions, nowadays.
[ Lighter's attention sweeps the floor, spotting the bar. Glossy, gorgeous. A far cry from the setup in the back of the big rig, all cracked and coated in dust. ]
But I think I need a drink before I get any further into it. [ An intention marked by a gesture for Leon to follow him, if he's game. ] Considering my luck so far, I could probably do worse than a cop for a date here.
( It's hard to tell what this guy is thinking behind those shades. His tone gives away some of how he's feeling, and it's things he recognizes. That frustration that comes from being in a new place, having your world turned upside only to be thrown into the deep end before you can even get your bearings. It's disorienting, worrying, and the weight it puts on your shoulders fresh out of the gate is enough to drown you if you aren't careful.
So Leon understands the tension in his voice for what it is. )
I'd say that's all you have to worry about, but that'd be too generous for this place. ( No, he's learned not to trust anything here if he can help it. ) That's a good thing.
( The invitation it taken with a nod, following after Lighter. ) Can't say I blame you.
( Especially not when one of the first times he'd done anything here had been an encounter while trapped in a painting. A necessity to get out of that painted nightmare from home. ) Probably. There's some interesting types here, that's for sure.
( He tips his head in a nod at the introduction. Lighter. Not the weirdest name he's heard here but still different. A nickname, maybe? )
Leon. ( Once they reach the bar, he glances at the selection of drinks before briefly looking over his shoulder at some of the other guests. The ones that had been floating and falling. )
I don't know if you want to chance the champagne. But what's your poison?
[ Date secured, then. Connections are never a bad thing, especially in a place where rank and wealth talk. ...And where risk seems to lurk around every corner. Lighter makes a face at the bubbly-afflicted patrons. ]
Champagne's not really my style, anyway. It's harder to get the fancier stuff, where I'm from... [ Which is funny, considering he orders something akin to an Old Fashioned — sugar, muddled cherry, and all. He's got a sweet tooth, what can he say. Lighter opts to stand while he waits, gaze shielded but body alert, the curvature of his stance both casual and electric at the same time. ] But if you have a taste for it, least I could do is offer to catch you.
[ Is he sincere, is he bullshitting... a mystery.
There is something more pressing on his mind, however. ]
It seems like you have some knowledge about this place. [ His words come carefully. ] How long?
( Connections. That's a word for it. Whatever you call meeting people here and getting to talk to them like an actual person instead getting thrown dick first into the them, he'll take it. And at least, this guy isn't making this situation more difficult than it has to be. Leon appreciates that Lighter isn't freaking not, isn't make a scene.
He orders his own drink, offering a small grin. )
It's not mine either. I'm not really much for fancy or expensive drinks.
( That's probably obvious given how he orders just a simple brandy. But the shift in conversation isn't a surprise given the situation they're in. Still, he lets out a long sigh, leaning his side against the bar to face Lighter. His gaze shifts from the bar to Lighter, and maybe the other man will see it in Leon's face, in his eyes, how just thinking about how long he's been here is weighing on him, makes his expression fall. It's hard not to let it be a constant weight on his shoulders considering the situation he'd left behind. )
Four months, give or take a week or two. ( But despite that, he manages to offer a wry smile. ) Long enough to know this place has plenty of ways to make you play their game.
[ Conspicuous as he might look, Lighter's return glance is shortlived, gleaning all he needs from the likewise simplicity of the other man's expression. His gaze turns to the sugary shine of his drink instead, made luminescent by the gaudy lights of the bar. His boss might not need him in the most basic sense of the word, but he can't help but think — what'll happen to her without him, the shadow that stalks the less savory threats always hot on her heels?
He sighs. ]
Four months is a long time. [ An observation that weighs slightly heavy in his throat, its implication sitting ill at ease with him. ] I'm guessing we're a lot more under lock and key than all the celebrating might suggest.
[ He shakes his wrist with the watch cuffed to it, the timer still festively present. ]
This one of the ways they guarantee your cooperation?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
goldmods) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
peacockstop2025-01-15 09:00 pm
no subject
Play the game does seem simplest in the short term. ]
I might have to take you up on that, if they're really going to put me into debt twice over. [ That possibility sounds tense in his throat. ] You know, I don't really have many addictions, nowadays.
[ Lighter's attention sweeps the floor, spotting the bar. Glossy, gorgeous. A far cry from the setup in the back of the big rig, all cracked and coated in dust. ]
But I think I need a drink before I get any further into it. [ An intention marked by a gesture for Leon to follow him, if he's game. ] Considering my luck so far, I could probably do worse than a cop for a date here.
[ But only here. ]
Name's Lighter.
no subject
So Leon understands the tension in his voice for what it is. )
I'd say that's all you have to worry about, but that'd be too generous for this place. ( No, he's learned not to trust anything here if he can help it. ) That's a good thing.
( The invitation it taken with a nod, following after Lighter. ) Can't say I blame you.
( Especially not when one of the first times he'd done anything here had been an encounter while trapped in a painting. A necessity to get out of that painted nightmare from home. ) Probably. There's some interesting types here, that's for sure.
( He tips his head in a nod at the introduction. Lighter. Not the weirdest name he's heard here but still different. A nickname, maybe? )
Leon. ( Once they reach the bar, he glances at the selection of drinks before briefly looking over his shoulder at some of the other guests. The ones that had been floating and falling. )
I don't know if you want to chance the champagne. But what's your poison?
no subject
Champagne's not really my style, anyway. It's harder to get the fancier stuff, where I'm from... [ Which is funny, considering he orders something akin to an Old Fashioned — sugar, muddled cherry, and all. He's got a sweet tooth, what can he say. Lighter opts to stand while he waits, gaze shielded but body alert, the curvature of his stance both casual and electric at the same time. ] But if you have a taste for it, least I could do is offer to catch you.
[ Is he sincere, is he bullshitting... a mystery.
There is something more pressing on his mind, however. ]
It seems like you have some knowledge about this place. [ His words come carefully. ] How long?
no subject
He orders his own drink, offering a small grin. )
It's not mine either. I'm not really much for fancy or expensive drinks.
( That's probably obvious given how he orders just a simple brandy. But the shift in conversation isn't a surprise given the situation they're in. Still, he lets out a long sigh, leaning his side against the bar to face Lighter. His gaze shifts from the bar to Lighter, and maybe the other man will see it in Leon's face, in his eyes, how just thinking about how long he's been here is weighing on him, makes his expression fall. It's hard not to let it be a constant weight on his shoulders considering the situation he'd left behind. )
Four months, give or take a week or two. ( But despite that, he manages to offer a wry smile. ) Long enough to know this place has plenty of ways to make you play their game.
no subject
He sighs. ]
Four months is a long time. [ An observation that weighs slightly heavy in his throat, its implication sitting ill at ease with him. ] I'm guessing we're a lot more under lock and key than all the celebrating might suggest.
[ He shakes his wrist with the watch cuffed to it, the timer still festively present. ]
This one of the ways they guarantee your cooperation?