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peacockstop2025-09-15 09:00 pm
goldmods) wrote in peacockstop2025-09-15 09:00 pm
Entry tags:
TDM 011
【 Thank you for choosing the Golden Peacock, 5-star resort and casino. You are currently registered as a WILDCARD in our system.
We are thrilled to announce that the Golden Peacock will be embracing autumn with a special outing. Current and new guests are invited to join us for a refreshing outdoor experience where participants can unplug, unwind, and connect with nature. During this time, all Watches will be disabled to the most basic functions (texting, calls, checking chip account) in order to encourage guests to disconnect.
Please look forward to two weeks of finding yourself amongst the trees. We hope you enjoy your stay, and have a fan-CAMP-stic time. 】
CAMPING
GETTING OFF THE GRID
As the resort moves into what it claims is autumn, the days grow shorter. The projected sun in the Vale sets in the afternoon, after which a faint chill falls. Then there’s the most excessive transformation of all – a portion of the Vale has transformed into a campground complete with a scenic lake, seemingly overnight. Statues nearby have been dressed up with flannel jackets and suspenders. Folksy banjo fills the air without any discernible source.
A section of the campgrounds have been reserved for tents. These tents vary in size, shape, and supplies. All tents, regardless of quality, are supplied with sex toys and lube. Staff and long-standing guests all agree — pretending to live in the wilderness and 'rough it' for a while is thrilling. This is what the peasants feel like all the time!
A section of the campgrounds have been reserved for tents. These tents vary in size, shape, and supplies. All tents, regardless of quality, are supplied with sex toys and lube. Staff and long-standing guests all agree — pretending to live in the wilderness and 'rough it' for a while is thrilling. This is what the peasants feel like all the time!
HOME ON THE RANGE
Welcome to the Peacock Campgrounds! Nicknamed the Stomping Grounds by long-standing guests. Rustic and right off a sparkling lake, guests will find everything they need to live in the wilderness. Staff have expertly set up fire pits, benches, hammocks, and a wooden shed to act as a tool depository. There's even an outhouse, which is a real novelty to many of the long-standing guests. Do they just... squat over that hole and do their business? How wild!
Unlike previous resort-sponsored excursions, guests are expected to manage without the help of staff. That pile of wood won't be replenished once used; guests will have to go chop down trees and split their own. Food won't magically appear in their tents regardless of rank. Camping is all about living off the land. Though staff make themselves scarce to make the experience feel real, they lurk in the shadows, discreetly providing necessary tools and fixing broken equipment so guests won't struggle too much. It isn't fun if it's real hardship, after all!
Unlike previous resort-sponsored excursions, guests are expected to manage without the help of staff. That pile of wood won't be replenished once used; guests will have to go chop down trees and split their own. Food won't magically appear in their tents regardless of rank. Camping is all about living off the land. Though staff make themselves scarce to make the experience feel real, they lurk in the shadows, discreetly providing necessary tools and fixing broken equipment so guests won't struggle too much. It isn't fun if it's real hardship, after all!
ACTIVITIES
TWO WEEKS OF ROUGHING IT
Camping can't be all about survival. Where's the fun in that? Before 'leaving', the staff arrange activities and events for guests to enjoy. A wooden bulletin board outlines times for group hikes, camping experiences, and wilderness delights. Adirondack chairs line the edge of the lake and a few tire swings hang over the water, tied to strong tree branches. For the first week and a half the weather is pleasant and sunny. Perfect for camping.
At night, acoustic guitars and other wooden instruments come out so that guests can make music around the bonfire. Projected stars dapple the night sky, forming various constellations sourced from guest worlds. The moon enters a different phase each night, shining a gentle silver across the campgrounds. Why not pull your sweetheart in and cuddle beneath the night sky? It's so romantic.
At night, acoustic guitars and other wooden instruments come out so that guests can make music around the bonfire. Projected stars dapple the night sky, forming various constellations sourced from guest worlds. The moon enters a different phase each night, shining a gentle silver across the campgrounds. Why not pull your sweetheart in and cuddle beneath the night sky? It's so romantic.
HOWLING
CALL OF THE WILD
Temperatures drop drastically at night as the camping excursion nears its end. Nights become so chilly that morning dew frosts over, crunching beneath guest feet. Every day the light and its warmth set a little bit earlier. Staff remain elusive and do not provide warmer blankets or clothes for guests, leaving them to cuddle for warmth or find other ways to sleep comfortably during nightly cold snaps.
The moon hits its apex on the final night of camping. Unlike the other nights, this full moon shines blood red. The Vale stills under this ominous sign, silent. Snowflakes begins to fall, spreading an endless clean sheet across the campgrounds. That reflected pink hue is inescapable.
The moon hits its apex on the final night of camping. Unlike the other nights, this full moon shines blood red. The Vale stills under this ominous sign, silent. Snowflakes begins to fall, spreading an endless clean sheet across the campgrounds. That reflected pink hue is inescapable.
OOC NOTES
▶ BLANKET CW: altered states; eyes (descriptions only, incl. eye injury); exhibitionism; hunting (incl. hunting fantasy creatures); orgies; public sex; survival; temperature play; tentacles; transformation; violence
▶ 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 September event. Camping will ICly begin September 15th and end October 3rd.
▶ 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.
▶ 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.
▶ 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 September event. Camping will ICly begin September 15th and end October 3rd.
▶ 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.
▶ 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.
no subject
And it's weird, how dreams can warp around this sort of interference. He spots Toma's body in the distance, and he shouts again, some of the noise making it through. )
Th— ents—!
( Lost in this memory as he is, he doesn't recognize who Toma is, even as his shape becomes more clear in the snow. He doesn't pick up on the oddity of his attire, either, too busy reaching out with one arm, the other shielding his own face, trying to breathe in painful gasps. )
There are tents— ( Finally, he's audible, voice strained, and his body nearly crashes into Toma's, seeking warmth. Getting nothing, but pointing out to the side, all the same. Tents, right? Tents, he knew they were around here, and he can see the faintest outline of them, a camp, their only hope for the storm. He doesn't try speaking again, just pivots his body to point in that direction and begin moving— this time with one mittened hand held desperately to Toma anywhere that he can. A lifeline, it feels like, so they won't get separated. )
no subject
He tenses when Esikko collides with him-- tents? He must mean the campsite, Toma thinks - that would be the simplest answer. But there's still too much that doesn't add up for it to be simple-- Esikko's clothing is the least of it, compared to his behavior, reaching for Toma without a moment's hesitation or a single snide remark. It makes no sense, no matter how dire the situation.
It makes no sense, but Toma is in no position to determine an explanation. Not with the wind still slicing at him - there's already tissue damage, he's sure of it, and no time for it to heal until he gets out of this.
He determines, quickly, that he does only have one real option. He grabs onto the prince's wrist - as best he can, his fingers losing feeling already - and follows where Esikko leads, without a word.]
no subject
Esikko doesn't seem to stop and care about that. He stumbles in his steps, clutching carefully at the zipper of the front entrance to the closest one and yanking Toma with him inside. )
Close it. ( His words sound strained, as he drops to his knees inside. It's cramped, despite it being fairly larger in size, filled with sleeping bags, boxes, equipment, and burnt out lanterns. Esikko seems to be dealing with some sort of pain beyond just the snow, though, as he hunches over himself, forehead touching to the floor of the tent itself, breath shuddering.
Memories clash with the now. Did he really make it to this tent? Wasn't he supposed to be alone? The red marks beneath his eyes burn brightly and spread like tendrils across his face, and though there's no sign of his blood, the scent of chrysanthemum and lavender begin to permeate the air of the tent. His body is adapting to the Divinity he's just absorbed— or struggling to. He looks like he's going to be sick, and he can barely focus on why Toma is there, or recognize him, in the sharp stabs of pain throughout his body. A body not meant for this. )
no subject
He's working to piece it all together as they approach - as he zips the tent shut, absolutely not needing to be told twice. Esikko doesn't seem to recognize him, at least not as himself. They aren't where they were, but Esikko isn't questioning that, either. The closest thing he can think of is those memories they saw - that he felt - at the gala... but this time, he isn't experiencing it from Esikko's perspective. Someone else's, then, maybe from his world? But what set it off-- and this is different from back then, besides. Toma isn't merely experiencing something as a passenger - he is still decidedly acting as himself.
And, as himself... with the tent secured shut, Toma turns back to the prince, brow furrowing. His own skin is still burning from the cold - it will heal soon, no doubt. But he's less sure about whatever is happening to Esikko.
Toma kneels down, slowly, on the floor, eyeing those red marks crawling across Esikko's face. His nose wrinkles at that familiar, floral scent - no sign of blood, though.] What's wrong with you?
[...He redirects his own Tao, to check the state of the prince's. Whatever is happening here - something tells him it's important.]
no subject
Nothing.
( Esikko hisses the answer like he's annoyed at the question, and it's clear immediately through a vague sort of sense that he's lying. Not just in the obvious way he's hunched over in pain; there's something there that Toma can feel, but it's far more like vibes than anything Tao-based. The overwhelming, blatant and obvious sensation that something is off, and something is powerful, and something is actively trying to harm Esikko. )
I just... ( Still, the prince speaks as if he's not dealing with anything out of the ordinary, forcing himself to peel his forehead away from the floor, to shake the excess snow from his mittens, and then wipe more from his face. Strangely, the weird tendrils from a moment ago have retracted, leaving only the thin red crescents. ) Need a moment.
( There's a pause, and then he turns, still shivering, still miserable and in clear pain, but squinting at Toma, like he's recognized that something is weird about this, at least. But it's not what Toma might expect. ) ...What are you doing, sitting there? We're both going to freeze to death.
( Because... Toma isn't healing, is he? )
no subject
The first hint of real fear comes when Toma realizes he can't gather his Tao - what he feels instead when he tries, the sudden weight of that all-consuming idea, doesn't help. Something is wrong - all of it is, the lack of sense of his own Tao, that feeling of isolation, the intensity with which he can tell Esikko is lying.
That Esikko is still acting as though everything is fine, despite his obvious state, is probably the least surprising thing. Toma has seen how little Tao he's working with day to day, how he insists on carrying himself as though nothing is wrong anyway. It does, however, make Toma want all the more to see just what is wrong with him at the moment.
Toma has little choice but to shelve his curiosity, though, since there's a more pressing issue. Indeed, as he realizes bit by bit - his face and hands still sting. His lungs still ache.
That fear ramps up a little further. Toma's breath catches, the ache from the cold suddenly feeling that much worse as it sinks in that it isn't going anywhere - no longer a temporary inconvenience, but the kind of lingering, bone-deep pain that he and Chobe used to huddle together to combat in winter, unwilling to sleep for fear that one or both wouldn't wake.
He doesn't move. His fingers grip the front of his shirt, as though that will be enough to banish the cold from his lungs; his thoughts are going a mile a minute, trying to piece together-- any kind of explanation. Somehow it must be the prince's doing, he's pretty sure-- but despite that insistence to himself, he can't quite muster any real vitriol.] What-- did you do?
no subject
His eyes are strained when they lock onto Toma's next. The words that Toma speaks aren't out of place for the memory, so nothing shatters, but his lack of action draws attention to it, shifting things further off course. Esikko sighs, like he's angry or annoyed, and though it's clear he's still swallowing down pain, he reaches out with the intent of drawing Toma closer, to huddle for warmth. )
Just— get over here, before we both die, would you? ( Pulling him closer, his clothes are still too cold, and so he shudders out a breath. For some reason, Esikko is still warm beneath these clothes, still slowly being altered as they wait out the storm. )
You know I haven't been out of the palace much before this, so why am I the one telling you what to do? We need skin contact.
no subject
He notices that puff of Esikko's breath - warmer than he ever remembers it being. What he says next clicks a few more pieces into place, a bit at a time. Certainly a memory, then, or something close to it, with Esikko not remembering the resort at all.
Furthermore... "you know", he says. He thinks Toma is someone else, and someone specific - someone who would know more about Esikko's past than the handful of memories Toma saw. He grasps onto that last detail, the faint possibility that, maybe, he could use this, learn something of value while Esikko thinks he's someone else.
Unfortunately, he also knows Esikko is right about what they're going to need to do here. Ugh, he hopes this doesn't get weird. Depending on Esikko's relationship to this person, he might just need to do what he can to make his identity clear, tactical advantage be damned.]
Fine-- fine. Just let go for a moment, I'm going to check those sleeping bags. [Fuck. Now that he's thinking about it, he can feel his own shivering more acutely. Yeah, this is a problem.] Need the insulation before taking anything off.
no subject
( That's his impatient mutter in return. At the very least, there's no indication from Esikko that he expects anything close to intimate with whoever he's seeing. If anything, he seems to barely be tolerating their presence, more focused on shifting through boxes of equipment to find matches. With a quick few careful strikes, he lights one lantern, and then another, setting them up where they might be stable, where some heat might help.
He only just barely finishes the second one when he seems to go in another fit of pain, hunching over himself, a hand to his head, another to his chest, completely out of focus. )
Cold... ( He mutters, to himself, blinking through the dizziness, flicking his eyes to check on Toma. ) How are they?
no subject
Toma isn't intending to waste any time as he searches through their limited supplies, either, quickly gauging each sleeping bag's viability. It would be one thing if he had the time or materials to repair some of these, but he'll just have to work with what he can find intact.
He glances at Esikko, dragging the bag in the best condition over to him.] Most are in bad shape. This one is intact, though, and should be big enough. [He drops it on the floor, mindful not to knock over those lamps.] Get in; I'll follow.
[Stay calm. Stay focused.]
no subject
When Toma moves to join him, he makes a few noises of annoyance, but it's not necessarily at him, just. He's in pain, he's cold, he's... somehow feverish at the same time?
He waits, at first, as they huddle together. After a few moments, though, his own anxiousness gets to him. )
Are you feeling any warmer? ( Because he's not. But he doesn't know why, doesn't know that his blood is running cold, that hypothermia is threatening him regardless. )
no subject
[All the same-- before he even starts on his own clothing, Toma lifts a hand to rest against the prince's forehead, brow furrowed. Esikko's state has him starting to worry whether it's safe to be in such close quarters with him - though, he'll grant, he doesn't have much choice either way.]
no subject
The faint warmth of his forehead is there and fading, replaced quickly by something not just cold from the environment, but harshly icy. Toma might be able to realize that he can feel it, a different presence causing it, something actively fighting against Esikko's own body.
But there's warmth there. His chest has more of it, when he removes coat, unties the layers of his robes and pushes undershirts aside to press closer. The cloth ends up bundled around their edges, and ultimately pushes Esikko and Toma's bodies closer. His fingers are bitingly cold, even worse than his forehead, and he greedily wraps them around to press against Toma's back, desperate. Sorry. )
Hard to... keep my eyes open. ( Mumbled, as the minutes pass and this strange battle inside of him feels even worse, has his body diving into an illness that's both giving him a fever and pressing forward with that unnatural icy temperature. Weird. ) You too?
no subject
Toma frowns as he moves his hand away to shrug off his own kimono. At the very least, the prince's warmth hasn't drained away entirely; he feels that lingering heat, as Esikko clings to him (even though his hands are cold as fuck).
His thoughts are racing, as those minutes tick by. A significant part of him still wants to draw away - not to risk losing what little body heat he's got left to that constant, creeping cold emanating from Esikko. But he thinks, from what little he can tell, that this is better than being on his own would be - and if he withdraws, he's bound to end up stuck here with a corpse.
That's it, then. Best bet is still to try and keep Esikko alive - which means figuring out what's wrong with him.
He doesn't directly answer, but doesn't pull away - still pressed up to Esikko, shivering. He does try to turn his head a bit to give him a look.] Something is wrong - inside you.
no subject
And just like that, the winds resume, the light stays still, and Esikko breathes out something that's only half defeated. )
It won't trouble you. ( Insistent, he thinks he's addressing the only problem anyone could have with him potentially dying here. He ate a god, but he's not about to tell Toma— Kirma— that. Because it's taboo, because he doesn't trust him, because he doesn't trust anyone. He just has to wait it out, to see if he can survive this, nothing else matters.
So, even as his breath shakes and he pulls himself closer, even as he tucks his face closer against the side of Toma's to connect them even more, he refuses to share that. )
I'm just... my body is failing. ( Not a lie, not exactly, even as he hides the reason behind it. ) I might... pass out, I think. But I'll be fine.
( He's not sure if he believes that. But he wants to. His breaths are shorter, shallower. )
Forget it and just focus on getting warm and staying that way.
no subject
But Toma, of course, is... not decent. He at the very least refrains from snapping too openly, giving a somewhat vague retort instead:] It's troubling me now.
[Still piecing together what information he can... Esikko did have a normal body temperature, was presumably a normal human - he did something, that he's facing the consequences of now. Something that likely stabilized, at least for the most part, leaving him with ice cold, floral blood, but able to do things a normal human couldn't.
There are parts of it all that are irritatingly familiar.
Regardless - for now, he answers Esikko's dismissal with a dissatisfied grunt.] Don't do that. If you pass out in this condition, there's a good chance you won't wake up.
[He's trying to remember what he saw in the tent, before they huddled in here... is there anything else they could use? More lanterns, more means to generate heat, or is this all they've got to work with?]
no subject
( His hushed voice is a little hard to make out, with the noise of the storm outside, but Esikko's shivering body moves just enough to draw one of his cold hands back, between them, curling at his own chest. Something can be sensed there by Toma, some sort of energy, as Esikko continues to mumble, almost as if automatic from memory, rather than any conscious words: ) I'll try again if that happens.
( There's more lanterns, burnt out and scattered about, but not much else to work with. And even if Toma were to try and shift and leave the bag to investigate, Esikko clings to him with both arms, now, and his legs, as well. )
Just stay here. ( Hissed bossily, stubbornly, as he clearly deals with some sort of pain alongside the threat of hypothermia. ) I'll be fine.
( Something is shifting along the edges of this dream's reality. The closer Esikko gets to passing out here, the less the scene seems to hold— which means they'll both wake up when he finally gets there, not that Toma is aware. )
no subject
[Not that he really expects a coherent answer; it sounds like Esikko is barely thinking about his own words as he says them. Whatever he means, Toma isn't sure he's in any state to explain it.
It has him thinking about that last, strange memory in the hall of mirrors, though; then, he had seemed to kill himself out of desperation and loneliness, having lost... whoever that man was to him. Now, the possibility of his own death doesn't seem to faze him at all. I'll try again if that happens. He feels like he has most of the pieces to something, but barely, infuriatingly, not enough to put them properly together.
There's little to be done for it, in any case - not the ambiguity of Esikko's situation, not his plummeting temperature, not the cold still encroaching on Toma's body in turn.
Nothing but to wait. To stay stubbornly awake, to pay close attention to any remaining sign of life from the prince - even while something happens all around him, pulling at his awareness. He can't even be sure if it's the cold affecting him, or something else entirely.]
no subject
When the last bit of color fades, the harsh cold of the dream vanishes completely, and Toma is restored to consciousness! Esikko, too, though he's taking a bit longer to wake from it, a hand reaching to grip at his own head, the other scrubbing at his eyes like it might help. What a weird dream... )
no subject
But then, suddenly, it's over-- and he's... back near the camp, lying on the ground like he'd collapsed where he stood. Toma pushes himself hurriedly to his feet, casting a quick glance around - and his gaze lands on Esikko, still by the fire, rubbing his eyes like he... also just woke up.
In a way, it points toward a potential explanation for what he just witnessed - but that explanation raises more questions, and Toma hardly knows what to do with it anyway. So, rather than acknowledge the strange experience-- for now, Toma hurries on his way, doing his absolute best to pretend that just didn't happen at all.
He'll think it over back at the tent.]
no subject
But something catches his eye. The sight of the back of Toma's head, just as he disappears behind a few tents in the distance, heading away. Esikko frowns, but... it's probably his imagination, right? There's no reason for it to be anything otherwise.
And so he leaves it at that, this time. Brushes it off as sleep deprivation and struggling, and his stress with the brothers, and moves on. )