【 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.
[ He is not very surprised when Xue Yang grabs for his arm, just letting him take it and inspect it as he wants. It would be a futile effort to fight it and also just kind of a pain so he lets him look.
While there isn't any resentful energy left on the wounds now that they're healed, Wei Wuxian is sure of his answer as he responds — ]
Made by the resentful energy, I'm sure.
[ Because of the way they were kept open, no matter how much he tried to tend to them, tried to make them heal. They stayed opened, bleeding sluggishly but not really making him feel any pain. It was bizarre. ]
[ It's clearly fascinating Xue Yang and his eyes study the scars as the seconds tick by. He's never seen anything like this in practice.
Finally he gives an exhale as if he'd been holding his breath as his focus shifts and returns to Wei Wuxian's face. He doesn't let go. ]
Were your souls ever in the body at the same time? How long did the exchange take?
[ Is time a meaningless thing when one is a disembodied consciousness about to get dragged into someone else's body? Maybe. Is Xue Yang asking anyway? Yes. ]
[ Wei Wuxian's mouth pulls into a thin line as it becomes clear Xue Yang is not letting go of his arm. That's... well, he's not sure he likes that. He sure hopes Xue Yang doesn't decide to try and take his arm, no, that would suck.
So, he answers his questions as much as he can as his arm is still being held hostage, after all. ]
Not sure how long the exchange took but that's when our souls were in the same body. It seemed short? I just heard my name being called over and over and suddenly knew what I was being asked to do and then... it was over? Then he was gone and the body was mine. It left me a little groggy though.
[ His tone is flat as he explains, fairly unimpressed. This would interest him more if his audience was anyone else but for now, he just gives what he can give and feels safe to give while still trying to figure out how to get out of this conversation altogether. ]
[ Meanwhile Xue Yang has zero intention of letting Wei Wuxian out of this conversation. Which is very related to why his arm is still being held captive. (And that at least gives him an incentive to leave it attached?) ]
The knowledge of the task was conveyed differently from how your name was called? Why? Is the task decided unconsciously?
[ In which case it would mean one is an intentional choice, the other not, and they could get conveyed accordingly. If it's actually not intentional, that makes another person's use of the ritual even more difficult to influence... ]
[ THANKS............ at least his arm is safe, for now.
Unfortunately, at Xue Yang's question, Wei Wuxian is thinking the same thing. He hadn't thought about it like that before and has to give it a good think before he's able to respond, chewing over the details in his head. ]
I think he knew what he wanted me to do, his desire was so strong that it was conveyed without needing to say it. I'm not sure if the summoner needs a specific task in mind before they summon the spirit, or just a desire to be present for the spirit to absorb. But no, he called for me, but he didn't say "kill my entire family for me" afterwards.
I think a lot of this depends on the caster's intentions, and how badly they want their request fulfilled. That's the key part.
[ Perhaps not unexpectedly, the phrase "kill my entire family for me" gets absolutely no reaction from Xue Yang. After all, what else would someone sacrifice themself to call Wei Wuxian specifically for? ]
When you have someone performing the ritual intentionally they're obviously gonna want it pretty badly, but if you're making someone do it that's not necessarily true. I should try it out. I bet I could get it working in five or six attempts. With enough refinement it could be a good option for guaranteeing you can come back after your death instead of having to leave it to chance.
[ And doesn't that sound delightful? Xue Yang setting up his own rebirth! ]
[ He's not surprised by the lack of reaction to that, because he had the same thought too — why else would he be summoned?
But what Xue Yang says next does surprise him, and get under his skin a little. Okay, so, that confirms that Xue Yang doesn't know that Wei Wuxian had a hand in his death. (Ha, hand.) That's... good. Probably. Maybe? Geez. ]
That's... not wrong, I guess. [ Ugh. ] Would you really not trust a natural rebirth?
And drink Meng Po's soup? [ He gives a derisive scoff. ] I don't want to start over again. Having to listen to cultivators to learn cultivation was a pain in the ass enough the first time.
[ Do you have any idea how many Jin Sect cultivators he had to put up with and not kill or even maim?? It was awful. ]
[ So tragic, for you. He feels so bad. Sooooo bad. ]
You might risk cutting yourself off from the cycle of rebirth by doing something like this though. If it fails, you'd be fucked. Your soul would be destroyed.
Yeah, I know that. That's why I'm gonna refine it first. [ Every demonic cultivator worth half their salt understands that they're working with forces that could fuck them over the moment their footing wavers, and the ones who are good at it don't survive long enough to get that way by treating it haphazardly. Xue Yang may be a delinquent, but he's not stupid enough to test these things out himself before he's confident in them. ] I'm not nearly as infamous as you are, Senior Wei. I can't trust that someone will think of my name first when they want someone to help with their revenge so bad they would die. I can figure out how to set this up, and it won't fail.
[ And he might wind up killing a person or twenty along the way, but that's such a small number, isn't it? ]
[ Wei Wuxian feels like he's made a terrible mistake here. He's not sure if he should try and convince Xue Yang of a different direction (doubtful he'll be able to) or if he should just let him do his thing and wash his hands of the venture. It's a little hard to figure out. Shit.
Then again he can't really do much here, can he? He's not sure. He's still figuring this place out and trying to understand the rules. Is demonic cultivation an easy hobby to have here? ]
Okay, yeah, well. I guess I'll leave you to it then. Can I have my arm back?
[ Demonic cultivation is a very easy hobby to have if you're focused on the ghost part and almost completely impossible if you're focused on the corpses part. Not that Xue Yang has tried to kill anyone or otherwise witnessed a near death to find out what happens in this place around that, but. There are ghosts. There were walking corpses, once. There's things to work with.
Xue Yang looks down at Wei Wuxian's arm, then back up at Wei Wuxian, his expression looking very much like someone thinking hard about a major decision. ]
If you stick around, Senior Wei, we'll definitely see each other again.
[ A promise, and a threat.
He squeezes the arm a little tighter for emphasis, then lets go. He's gotten a satisfactory amount to chew on from this conversation. ]
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While there isn't any resentful energy left on the wounds now that they're healed, Wei Wuxian is sure of his answer as he responds — ]
Made by the resentful energy, I'm sure.
[ Because of the way they were kept open, no matter how much he tried to tend to them, tried to make them heal. They stayed opened, bleeding sluggishly but not really making him feel any pain. It was bizarre. ]
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Finally he gives an exhale as if he'd been holding his breath as his focus shifts and returns to Wei Wuxian's face. He doesn't let go. ]
Were your souls ever in the body at the same time? How long did the exchange take?
[ Is time a meaningless thing when one is a disembodied consciousness about to get dragged into someone else's body? Maybe. Is Xue Yang asking anyway? Yes. ]
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So, he answers his questions as much as he can as his arm is still being held hostage, after all. ]
Not sure how long the exchange took but that's when our souls were in the same body. It seemed short? I just heard my name being called over and over and suddenly knew what I was being asked to do and then... it was over? Then he was gone and the body was mine. It left me a little groggy though.
[ His tone is flat as he explains, fairly unimpressed. This would interest him more if his audience was anyone else but for now, he just gives what he can give and feels safe to give while still trying to figure out how to get out of this conversation altogether. ]
no subject
The knowledge of the task was conveyed differently from how your name was called? Why? Is the task decided unconsciously?
[ In which case it would mean one is an intentional choice, the other not, and they could get conveyed accordingly. If it's actually not intentional, that makes another person's use of the ritual even more difficult to influence... ]
no subject
Unfortunately, at Xue Yang's question, Wei Wuxian is thinking the same thing. He hadn't thought about it like that before and has to give it a good think before he's able to respond, chewing over the details in his head. ]
I think he knew what he wanted me to do, his desire was so strong that it was conveyed without needing to say it. I'm not sure if the summoner needs a specific task in mind before they summon the spirit, or just a desire to be present for the spirit to absorb. But no, he called for me, but he didn't say "kill my entire family for me" afterwards.
I think a lot of this depends on the caster's intentions, and how badly they want their request fulfilled. That's the key part.
no subject
When you have someone performing the ritual intentionally they're obviously gonna want it pretty badly, but if you're making someone do it that's not necessarily true. I should try it out. I bet I could get it working in five or six attempts. With enough refinement it could be a good option for guaranteeing you can come back after your death instead of having to leave it to chance.
[ And doesn't that sound delightful? Xue Yang setting up his own rebirth! ]
no subject
But what Xue Yang says next does surprise him, and get under his skin a little. Okay, so, that confirms that Xue Yang doesn't know that Wei Wuxian had a hand in his death. (Ha, hand.) That's... good. Probably. Maybe? Geez. ]
That's... not wrong, I guess. [ Ugh. ] Would you really not trust a natural rebirth?
no subject
[ Do you have any idea how many Jin Sect cultivators he had to put up with and not kill or even maim?? It was awful. ]
no subject
You might risk cutting yourself off from the cycle of rebirth by doing something like this though. If it fails, you'd be fucked. Your soul would be destroyed.
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[ And he might wind up killing a person or twenty along the way, but that's such a small number, isn't it? ]
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I... guess...
[ Wei Wuxian feels like he's made a terrible mistake here. He's not sure if he should try and convince Xue Yang of a different direction (doubtful he'll be able to) or if he should just let him do his thing and wash his hands of the venture. It's a little hard to figure out. Shit.
Then again he can't really do much here, can he? He's not sure. He's still figuring this place out and trying to understand the rules. Is demonic cultivation an easy hobby to have here? ]
Okay, yeah, well. I guess I'll leave you to it then. Can I have my arm back?
no subject
Xue Yang looks down at Wei Wuxian's arm, then back up at Wei Wuxian, his expression looking very much like someone thinking hard about a major decision. ]
If you stick around, Senior Wei, we'll definitely see each other again.
[ A promise, and a threat.
He squeezes the arm a little tighter for emphasis, then lets go. He's gotten a satisfactory amount to chew on from this conversation. ]