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Penance Mods ([personal profile] penancemods) wrote in [community profile] penancememes2021-08-25 12:50 am
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TEST DRIVE MEME #27

Arrival
"Judgement has come upon you. God has deemed you worthy of Hell. But don't worry, it can still be undone," comes a soothing voice that echoes all around you. The voice promises comfort, hope even.

It may seem like a nightmare at first, despite all of that. Full of hellfire nipping at your skin and a sensation of being pulled down no matter how much you struggle or cry for help. Wretched, unseen hands pull at you, grip tight at your body, tighten on your throat, skeletal fingers grab at your face, slide in your mouth and jab at your eyes as they struggle for purchase. It feels like for a moment, they may snap your neck as they tug and pull. The more you resist, the more phantom hands are added to your struggling body.

It feels like they could tear you apart if you let them. The only thing to do is to let go and stop fighting.

And so you do.

Darkness and nothingness consumes you for a second, but only a second.

Initially, everyone opens their eyes to a long, dark corridor made of stone. They find themselves in what appears to be a long queue with other sinners, palm bloody.

Characters find their bodies feel heavy and stiff, bruised with odd hand prints here and there that they received during their journey down below. A massive headache throbs behind their temples. They are urged forward to take a numbered ticket and wait their turn in the long line. As they're ushered forward through the corridor, their first stop will be to see Lilith, standing outside her office.

The woman in a smart suit and a friendly smile steps forward to greet sinners one by one. "I'm sorry for your rough landing. We've never gotten it quite as smooth as it was in the past. Please, let me see your hand--"

Once she has the sinner's hand, there's the warm, almost electric touch of magic that soothes away the aches and pains, heals the wound left behind on each sinner's palm. Lilith looks satisfied with her work and gives a nod. "There, all better. Please continue on until you reach Death's office. He'll have your contracts ready for you."

There's a slightly wicked twist to her lips. "Please do feel free to ask him about any of those sins listed..."

And so on, sinners travel until they finally arrived at another office where Death sits waiting. Here is where you'll receive a contract detailing all sins committed. If they look at the list closely enough they'll notice it's written on with their blood. That explains the wound then. It's an old piece of parchment despite the freshly written letters upon it. Death will also provide slightly more modern smart phone. Think early generation Android.

Seems as though Hell has moved on up from the very old Blackberry type phone.

Once characters have their device and their contracts, they're ushered further down the hall. It seems to go on and wind forever, but eventually, they come upon the lobby of Penance hotel. Once there, they will notice several shops and other areas around the front desk.

The demon at the front desk looks rather bored, but when sinners approach? He seems to snap to attention to offer whatever help they might need of him. He will at least direct to food or rooms to rest their wary bodies, or recommend sights to see around the hotel.


Stand Your Ground
While the Mares have gone, as per Death's bargain with God, and reconstructing Penance is coming along fairly well, the air is carrying with it a cold crispness that sends a chill down one's spine. Lucifer is still nowhere to be found, and if pressured, staff will say he's having talks with the other Lords of Hell, as well as God himself. Things need to be worked out, no matter how difficult it is for Lucifer to accept and swallow his pride. He won't be around to offer warmth to the Penance community and it may, in fact, be mirroring his current mood.

Or it may be the creeping sense of doom that's following so many around now that The Veiled Order has been able to nearly complete their next spell. Local demons will plainly say that God won't help them against this threat, that he doesn't care if Hell is destroyed, and others will be very hush about the situation entirely. No need to scare the local sinners, new or old!

Instead just enjoy the reopening businesses around the local area! Nothing is off-limits. Hellburbia seems to have suffered some extensive damage recently, but not to worry! There's talk of building back better than ever.

Other than that, Helluva Cup has a new spiced drink... and spiced everything. That's right! Pumpkin spice has apparently come early this year... and it may be a bit overpowering and in everything in the coffee shop, regardless of what you order. Even Bean, the 'friendly' hell rat the owner keeps in the shop seems to be feasting on pumpkin flavored meat. That's probably okay. Right?

Penance Library is offering a special reading of Leviathan-specific reads. The local goblins will be doing readings every afternoon for all who care to listen or to stick around and discuss it. These will all be fictional in nature, not historic texts.

Strangely enough, there seems to be a sort of curfew happening. While everyone will not be expected to be in the hotel necessarily, they must take shelter in the newly opened Club Penance, Casino Styx, Hella Shorty's, or other establishments. They must either stay the night in these establishments or be escorted to the hotel by demonic guards. These guards will be doing rounds around the Penance community to ensure no one is out alone. Do not fight them or they may surprise you with how strong they can be.

Additionally, anyone caught defying curfew knowingly or fighting back will be locked in their rooms for up to three days as a potential danger to the community as a whole. There are all sorts of dangers lurking out there and the demons are absolutely trying to keep everyone as safe as they can!

Otherwise, it's business as usual around Penance, so go on an exploration! Bundle up against the cold! Have fun!


Reach Up High
WARNINGS: cutting, blood, torture

Whether you've been here for months or you're freshly arrived, your demonic overlord unfortunately expects some participation despite the current state of things. You can try and shirk the responsibility, of course. You can bargain your way out of it for a while. But eventually, you may find yourself trapped in a room just off the gym that's been fondly dubbed The Torture Room. It has all manner of equipment in there, along with an iron maiden even.

But don't worry about any of that right now. It probably won't be used.

You can try the door, but even with super human strength or every lock picking skill in the book, you won't be able to open it.

It soon becomes apparent what you're supposed to do when someone else is eventually shoved in with you. Both of your lists of sins will appear on a table that's been placed in the center of the room with two handy knives. You can choose to guard these or not care at all that they're on display.

"Unfortunately, due to Father coming back into the picture, I know that He will demand punishment be delivered despite our circumstances. I have chosen a rather easy one, focused on honesty and acceptance of your sins. Please pick up a knife and choose a sin from each of your lists to carve upon your skin. Aid each other in your journey, carve the words to help your fellow penitent be candid with everyone around them!"

The voice rings out within the sinners' heads as it always does, although Lucifer seems agitated at the moment, hesitant in some way that he usually isn't.

"I do apologize for this. If it was up to me, you would have been free of additional torment this month. However, there will be additional incentive for anyone who should try to resist the task I've appointed them."

It isn't a lie nor an idle threat either. The longer you wait to do what's been requested of you, the more shallow cuts that will appear on both of your bodies. Are you really prepared to endure this pain when giving in would be so much easier?

And more than that, are you willing to let another suffer along with you?

Eventually, the cuts will stop if you suffer them long enough, but you'll have failed this challenge and sustained more damage than if you'd just gone along with it. Satan will also be very disappointed in you.


Follow Me Down

Prompt I: Reopening
WARNINGS: sex, drugs, alcohol, aphrodisiacs, body changes, potential kinks, violence, potential non-con or dub-con.

Club Penance is finally back! And with themed nights to start off all the fun. This night's theme is: Anything But Clothes. Guests who enter the adult oriented side of the club will notice the incubi and succubi who serve in it are entirely without clothes (and any ounce of shame!). They're eager to get right back to business. They're very encouraging of others to do the same whether it be immediately or in sexy strip shows.

On their trays, they offer drinks and drugs of all sorts. Shows are being put on on the stage as usual, the offer of sex demos with guest participation are still on the table.

As usual, these demons play under respectable rules in the club, safe words and all. They will also gladly exit the stage and let guests entirely run the show. They're on their best behavior tonight, even if the natural aphrodisiacs they give off seem to be amped up

Guests who refused to undress may also find their clothes randomly disappearing, or being torn off by some eager patron or demon who is a bit too into the theme! Ah, well, no need to worry too much. There will be costumes and lingerie to slip on to go home in. There's absolutely nothing wrong with a walk of shame back to the hotel in nothing but a thong, they'll assure. It's just another night in Hell.

For those who are really adventurous, there are also special concoctions that the club offers. These include:

  • Frenzy ○ The drug will be given to anyone anyone who asks for it. It can be snorted, injected, taken in pill form, or smoked given user preference.

    Despite the questionable name, guests who partake really will feel the best they've possibly ever felt. They won't need sleep or to rest, but they won't necessarily feel the strain on their bodies either. They'll be full of energy and their mood will be amazing with no hint of nightmares or dreams anywhere.

    The demons won't let anyone come down either, not once they've started and not until they're told a guest doesn't want any more.

    Even then, they may still try to convince them otherwise. It's a party for as long as you can go, or until you completely burn out, it seems.

    But with all good things come bad. It seems a side-effect of the drug is an actual frenzy as well. A frenzy for sex or violence or anything a character might want that they deny themselves on the regular. They'll feel this growing hunger, this ravenous need to have and to claim everything they think is theirs.

    Some may even fade away into an almost animalistic sort of state.

    The more the guest takes, the more they'll experience this sensation. Fighting it won't help either. Though they did sort of bring that one on themselves, didn't they?

    Other symptoms of coming down won't be too different to those of other drugs. Fatigue, depression. Guests will begin to feel the effects of staying up for so long without rest or stopping to take care of themselves. They may also feel a certain longing for more, but it can be fought off with enough strength of will.

    The drug isn't free either. The succubi expect to be paid in energy or through actual work in the club.

    Bond ○ A potion that will bond guests together the minute one speaks to the other. The encouragement is that this should be done consensually, but the demons won't necessarily be checking. Once bonded, guests will feel what the one who took the potion feels. This includes pain and pleasure both with effects lasting a full night. Give someone the most intense pleasure of their lives or torture them until they beg for mercy!

    For a really intense experience, both participants can consume the potion with mutual effects.


  • For the dance oriented portion of the club, the theme is a little more lax. Instead of outright nakedness, patrons may be offered revealing clubwear instead. Things that will look mesmerizing in the lights of the club ranging from neon colors to clothes that seem to flash on the dance floor. The music will be thrumming in the air, pumping down to your very bones as you dance the night away, and all patrons will feel good. It will feel as if they could actually dance all night if they so wanted, even without the aid of any drugs.

    It will be an all night rave with all the party drugs and drinks one could want! Live music plays all night. The band also loves to receive requests, so knock yourself out! They seem to strangely know any song they're asked to play.

    Knock yourself out, give up any care in the world and have fun. You're already in Hell, so don't you deserve to feel good for a while?


    Prompt II: Your Average Hotel Night
    WARNINGS: Alcohol and drug abuse, potential non-con/dub-con

    With all the sinners, new and old, the hotel bar will be lit up with activity. Drinks will be readily available, there's food in the kitchens if anyone wants to bother serving it, music will be blaring whenever there's electricity, and overall, there will be an energy to the atmosphere that's absolutely contagious. Even if you aren't typically inclined to linger at these sorts of events there may be be a certain pull to stay and have a bit of fun.

    You might not get much of a chance to have that in Hell, after all. One drink won't hurt, right? Nor will one more after that, and after that. Ah, sweet gluttony. Why not have a pastry next? There's some delectable sweets available just a few steps away. More of a meat person? Like things salty? Fear not, it looks like someone graciously brought all sorts of snacks and foodstuffs from the kitchens to the bar as the night progresses. Indulge! You deserve it.

    Similar to Club Penance, the bar also has every sort of drug available that might tickle your fancy and some you've never heard of. There's no harm in experimenting, is there? You're already in Hell. The staff will offer to show anyone how to use the drugs or give advice for what to try if you tell them what you want to experience. Shockingly, they won't lie! Their advice is good word its just you might not have been exactly prepared for it.

    There's a stage and a karaoke machine for those feeling brave or just wanting to torture people with some sweet, sweet renditions of The Devil Went Down to Georgia.

    There are tables set up for all sorts of gambling and various bar games to entertain yourself with. Since currency as most are familiar with it doesn't quite exist down here, most of the demons seem to be accepting bits of your soul or offers to do chores around the hotel. You may also get pulled into a fun game of strip poker against one of your fellow guests for a few succubi that are having a night out.

    Relax and enjoy your night. Coming here and facing your sins is the hard part, so surely you deserve to have a little fun.


    Wildcard/Misc.
    Don't see something you love but still want to get a feel for the game? Check out our extensive list of LOCATIONS and write up your very own prompt however you'd like to! You can also add a "NETWORK" post option to your TL for quick, easy, and fun interactions.



    And without further ado: Welcome to our new TDM for the September 1st app round! As always, potential appers and characters already in game are welcomed to jump right in! This TDM counts as an additional game event as well as game canon for those coming into the game. If you app and are accepted, TDM tags become game canon and can be used for AC! Please have fun and don't hesitate to ask any questions you might have down below.

    If you have questions, comments, suggestions, etc., go here.


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    twatter: ([ 120 ])

    [personal profile] twatter 2021-09-04 04:06 am (UTC)(link)
    Maaaybe~

    [ Tech says, sing-song. ]

    But I did it anyway.

    [ Eyes drink in Kaiba as he tastes him -- something he's done in small doses before now. There have definitely been a few times where Kaiba has bitten to blood, but this seems a bit more intimate. His own taste buds ignite with an echo of flavor, but more than that, Tech can feel Kaiba's excitement as it surges through him, creating an eager arousal of his own. ]

    Tonight I want to feel what gets you off the most. I don't want you holding shit back for my sake. 'Cause I'm gonna enjoy it just as much as you.

    [ This is his one and only chance to truly get to know Kaiba -- to peek into his wants and desires no matter how twisted. To go where no one has gone before and maybe no one would again... ]
    dirtywizardman: (11)

    [personal profile] dirtywizardman 2021-09-04 04:10 am (UTC)(link)
    He wasn't expecting Essek to stop. The noise had been instinctive more than anything else, the touch reactive, and having Essek look at him now demanded too much of what they weren't talking about.

    His mouth buzzed with the memory of that kiss, looking at Essek, and with the words of offering to share his components, and of a hundred things done and said, and unsaid, and all the things that Essek knew but would not say.

    No wonder he didn't want to talk about that foolish kiss or that clumsy arrival. Why burden yourself with such things when you could unmast the complications. Now, there was this new wizard, or sorcer, or grisha, whatever he was, with his new magic, his darkness. Essek needed that.

    Caleb hadn't stopped touching his elbow.

    "Stay," he whispered. It was not what he had meant to say but it was the word that came out, like when they had read the books together. And then, what he had meant to say: "Don't let your curiosity get the better of you just yet."
    gravity_fissure: (I knew my weakness)

    [personal profile] gravity_fissure 2021-09-04 04:33 am (UTC)(link)
    Stay.

    Like Essek hadn’t broken whatever rules and kissed him, soft and sweet and unburdened by aphrodisiacs. He had no excuse but for fear and worry, a deep love and weakness. He had crossed a line, and they both knew it, and yet-

    Stay. Whispered like the fragile request it was. He felt those fingers at his elbow, gentle in their touch and yet the fingers weren’t necessarily soft; they were the fingers of someone born with fire in their veins, who had suffered. Someone well-traveled and well-read.

    Stay. And Essek nodded slowly. Because he would stay here, because they bad stayed during the Mares. He could trance and Caleb would sleep and it…it would be fine.

    “I have no intention of letting anything get the better of me.” Except you, Caleb. He taped down the end of the bandage, picking up the scissors and cut the edge. He was done, and those violet eye stared into Caleb’s. “Are you worried for me?”
    tobetheone: Devil Bear @ Hollowart (we're at a level select)

    [personal profile] tobetheone 2021-09-04 05:15 am (UTC)(link)
    [As patiently as he'd endured the act of cutting, the clatter makes him jump. He'd consented to the pain, but a sudden noise could easily be a threat. He's snapped his arm back, body tightening until the time it takes for him to register that the sound was from a discarded knife and not a new threat.]

    You didn't go too deep. It was fine. A lot gentler than Monika was.

    [Is it okay to say that? She's still such a touchy subject, should he not be using her name at all?

    He accepts the list as it's handed to him, dutifully running his eyes down every line in turn. Where most people dismissively pick the shortest line, Mega reads it.]


    Hacking is outlawed where you're from?

    [It doesn't occur to him that talking about the sins isn't anywhere near the point.]
    universal_charm: (half_smirk)

    [personal profile] universal_charm 2021-09-04 05:26 am (UTC)(link)
    A quick conversation and Kirk had in hand a bottle of a rich looking liquor - if they were going to do this, they were going to do it right, damn it. None of the cheap stuff that barely held a taste. No, they needed a rich kick that warmed the belly and the bones.

    "Which one were you in?" he asked, not unkindly, and walking slowly for Caleb's benefit as he headed outside and aimed for the newly rebuilt stepford houses not far off. "The most common seems to be either the needle carving the back of your hand, or the one where you have to carve a sin into whomever you got thrown in the room with."
    millenniumeyed: (If you wanna have a good time;)

    [personal profile] millenniumeyed 2021-09-04 09:58 am (UTC)(link)
    [She's so small the spikes probably wouldn't reach her anyway. You'd think Lucifer would make an effort to decorate his torture room with appropriately sized devices.]

    Perhaps not the worst, but who wants a stranger to go at them with a knife? [A pause.] Mmm, come to think of it, some people would go 'please sir, can I have another' at that.

    [But she doesn't sound like she's one of them.

    Her arm doesn't reach as far as he would like, so he grabs the end of his chair and drags it closer, sitting himself diagonal to her and rearranging her arm to accommodate his new position. Blade hovering over her forearm, he holds her wrist to the table and raises an eyebrow as she continues to speak.]


    Yes, I can. [Pegasus turns the knife in his fingers and reaches over to close her mouth by tapping the handle her under the chin.] You were making suggestive comments before you'd even seen me, and I've barely been here five minutes, so you just sound disingenuous. You're a pretty girl. You don't need to come on this strong, nor to men my age. Assuming your appearance isn't deceiving me. [She looks young, but it's always a little difficult to gauge age. People in their earlier twenties can look pretty young.

    Drawing the knife away, he slips it back around and applies it to her arm, cutting as shallow as the exercise allows. One neat line.]


    Good guess. Do you have any talent in the arts? [Maybe she'll drop whatever this is if they move on to a more palatable topic.]
    millenniumeyed: (I wanna take you there;)

    [personal profile] millenniumeyed 2021-09-04 09:59 am (UTC)(link)
    Mmhmm.

    [Very comfortable. He hasn't gotten to use another person as a pillow in such a long time, and he probably would have slept here were a hot tub a suitable place for a nap.

    He lets his eye slide shut and flattens his hands over Seto's neck and back, steadily becoming a dead weight atop Seto. He'll rest here as long as Seto permits it. It's pleasant, being so close, letting Seto's warmth radiate into him, and he can just about feel the steady throb of Seto's pulse against the side of his face.]
    swordofzero: (is not happy... at all)

    [personal profile] swordofzero 2021-09-04 10:21 am (UTC)(link)
    [He just nods, Suzaku doesn't need to be drugged to follow orders. He draws closer, reaching out to hold Kaiba's arm steady against the table as he brought the tip of the blade to him.

    He is still not happy about this being counted as Kaiba's sin. When Kaiba might have walked away from that alley if Suzaku hadn't approached him.]


    I don't blame you for it. [He told him seriously.] No matter how... whoever chooses our sins considers it.

    [But he does begin to carve, matching Kaiba in writing in Japanese.]
    Edited 2021-09-04 10:22 (UTC)
    swordofzero: (staring)

    [personal profile] swordofzero 2021-09-04 10:31 am (UTC)(link)
    He has endured pain before and this pain at least has an end. The word only has so many letters. He remains silent, bracing himself against the pain, feeling the blood on his arm.

    Caleb rolled up his own sleeve, exposing his scars. Suzaku's face showed nothing, remaining stoic even as he wondered about them. It would be beyond rude.

    "What would you like me to write?"

    He could find a space, hopefully without aggravating new wounds.
    holeinwall: (Can't be held responsible for my actions)

    [personal profile] holeinwall 2021-09-04 01:48 pm (UTC)(link)
    But he's not you.

    [ There'd been a temptation to dance around what she ultimately wanted to say, but screw it. None of that other stuff matters. Well, it does. It's horrible. But ultimately, everything comes down to how her yearning for him had only increased tenfold. It's probably why she pushed Mega away. She must've unconsciously sensed he was going to try to ruin something special. ]

    No one here is. No matter how hard I try to pretend.

    [ Her eyes finally open, and they're a bit damp, she finds. Nothing more coffee can't fix, right? Or maybe more books, or champagne, or who-knows-what from some random demon. Everything was going to circle back to him anyway. May as well feel good while she spirals down a drain.

    After straightening up, she gulps down a majority of the remaining coffee. Maybe the caffeine rush would be a nice substitute for the peaceful lull of alcohol she's craving instead. ]


    Like. How'd we end up like this?

    [ It's asked without expecting an answer. A million of them are already sprouting up as she tosses it out into the atmosphere. ]

    If this had happened when we first met, you'd probably have rolled your eyes at everything. Said "eff all this" and joke about smacking a few computers around, just to show how cool you are. Then I'd laugh and maybe do something dumb, like offer you my butt to get you started. You know, if I even wanted to admit I was anything like a computer. Then we'd continue on like nothing was wrong with us.

    [ She laughs softly. Those were the days. Everything was perfect. A perfect storm, brewing on the horizon and looming ever closer, but perfect nonetheless. ]

    But now, we care. And you're going to keep pulling away and I'll allow it, because hey, I deserve it. [ Another laugh, sadder this time, as her gaze drifts elsewhere. ] "It's so much darker when a light goes out than it would have been if it had never shone." Steinbeck. [ She adds that needlessly, knowing he'd immediately recognize it anyway. ] I wonder what it'd be like if we never turned the light on.
    neutronblast: (♚ if you insist)

    [personal profile] neutronblast 2021-09-04 02:33 pm (UTC)(link)
    [he has to laugh at that guesstimate of 60 percent, as if it boiled down to a mere numbers game. not at her so much as at himself; it sounded like something he would say.

    for once, he doesn't mind her getting close. overall, he wasn't a huge fan of proximity, but he can tell that she's taken his advice: she's being herself, for better or for worse. and he can't help but feel proud of that, because he knows it came about because of him. because of that brutal honesty which forced this side to the surface. forced the truth.

    he peers back at her and he relaxes a bit, his expression the slightest bit softer. monika was a nightmare, figuratively and otherwise, but she was almost appealing here.]


    Nah. I think it's a little more complicated that.

    [sighing, he looks away for a second or two. maybe she wasn't the only one who wasn't sure.]

    Look. I don't hate you. I never did. But you can't treat people like prizes. And I know that sounds ironic coming from me, but we're more than just commodities. The world is full of human beings, and it might be easy to write them off as zeroes and ones, but it doesn't work that way.

    [was he really giving her a pep talk? oh well, he thinks. stranger things have happened.]

    I don't really know anything about love. But I do know it's not a matter of winning or losing. It's a matter of being human.
    neutronblast: (♚ so tired)

    [personal profile] neutronblast 2021-09-04 02:37 pm (UTC)(link)
    [it's not like he was looking for forgiveness. what happened in the alley was less than ideal, but he didn't feel bad about it. but there was something reassuring in suzaku telling him he wasn't to blame. that he didn't hold it against him. he opens his eyes again, forces himself to watch suzaku do it. so he can remember it.]

    They took everything from you, didn't they?

    [he doesn't specify what he means by they. but he probably doesn't have to. he rests a hand on suzaku's arm, returning that reassurance.]

    My stepfather was a warmonger. It truly is a plague.
    neutronblast: (♚ to be happy)

    [personal profile] neutronblast 2021-09-04 02:53 pm (UTC)(link)
    [okay. that was kind of cute. not that he'd ever admit it.

    seto lets him bask in the closeness for a bit before nudging at his shoulder. at this rate, he really would fall asleep and they're both agreed: this really wasn't the best place for it. besides, he did want his bath. cleanliness was important, especially after so much mess. and seto kaiba gets what seto kaiba wants, at least most of the time.]


    C'mon. I'll get your back.

    [he likes looking after his partners, which he wouldn't admit either. one night stands were fine but a little aftercare never hurt.]

    But only if you get mine too. Fair's fair.
    neutronblast: (♚ checkmate)

    [personal profile] neutronblast 2021-09-04 03:14 pm (UTC)(link)
    [for a moment, kaiba just wants to throttle him. he's way too cute for his own good sometimes.

    the blood incenses him, gets him to breathe heavier and lean closer. the more time he spent here, the most demonic he became; the more this place warped him into something else, something worse. but he retains awareness, too strong-willed to fall prey to total subjugation. he was still seto kaiba, albeit a seto kaiba with horns and fangs and claws.

    he has to think a little on what he wants most, because he wants everything. eventually, he settles on:]


    Want me and only me.

    [which shouldn't be too surprising. that tech would be ravished was a given; but he wants more than that. he wants absolute loyalty, to him and no other.]

    Tell me that you're mine. And that you'll never want anyone else, or obey anyone else, so long as I'm still here.
    millenniumeyed: (If you wanna have a good time;)

    [personal profile] millenniumeyed 2021-09-04 03:50 pm (UTC)(link)
    [Pegasus grunts when nudged and breathes a sigh against Seto's neck at the request that follows. He'd hoped to lie for a little longer, but if Seto wants a proper wash before they leave the tub, he'll provide one.

    He plants a couple of kisses on Seto's throat before drawing back, unfurling to kneel in the water and giving himself a shake to drive away the encroaching drowsiness.]


    Won't be much of a wash without soap, but if you insist.

    [So he moves to turn Seto, one of his hands slipping down the slope of Seto's back, all the way into the water.]

    Might as well get your hair while I'm at it. You'll need to lean back for me.
    twatter: ([ 201 ])

    [personal profile] twatter 2021-09-04 04:08 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ The phone gets tucked away in his pocket and he goes for his vape pen instead, pressing it against his lips and drawing a deep drag. He's not so sure her little 'scenario' is something that would have actually transpired, but then again, Monika did have a tendency to live within her own fantasies. Or maybe Tech's simply jaded by this point that he can't ever imagine a scenario where he shrugged things off. Not one after he had unlocked these awful emotions. ]

    I don't know. Better in some ways, probably. Less painful for sure. But there's no scenario where that wouldn't have happened. I always would have found you.

    [ The smoke billows away from his lips, curling into itself and fading into the background. Tech watches it. ]

    Mega said you want things that aren't good for you, and I gotta wonder if this is the case here.

    [ He should leave it at that. That should be the end of it and no more words should come spewing forth. But with her close again, he can't help but entertain thoughts he really shouldn't entertain. He killed her, but then he died to save her. And in all of that death, the underlying feelings never died. They got twisted and warped, a volatile pendulum swinging from resentment to yearning, but they were still there. Even now. Especially now. ]

    If we were to give it another go, it couldn't be the same. We're both married to other people now...

    [ He had heard Monika's name called at least once at the ball. He doesn't know if she had heard his, though. Either way, she was bound to find out about him and Hazel at some point, so might as well come clean about it now. ]
    neutronblast: (♚ listening)

    [personal profile] neutronblast 2021-09-04 04:11 pm (UTC)(link)
    [he might be regretting that request as he realizes, belatedly, this puts him in a pretty vulnerable position. though it's a little late for that now, all things considered, so he complies and pivots as directed. he looks almost doe-eyed, tilting his head back to peer at pegasus. a little less like a stern CEO, a little more like a fidgety teenager.]

    You haven't done this with anyone else?

    [he keeps "this" vague. the bath, the sex, the intimacy. he can take his pick or assume all of the above.]

    Too bad. Seems right up your alley.
    holeinwall: (Take the easy way)

    [personal profile] holeinwall 2021-09-04 04:28 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ The laugh is curious. Not meant to mock her, she hopes. It's not like her estimate was too high or anything. A joke doesn't follow, however, so she's going to choose to believe she was at least somewhat right. ]

    Really? I figured you'd like everything being reduced to numbers. They're so objective and all.

    [ Or so TB had told her once, when they'd had a similar conversation. In the world, there's only statistics and probabilities. After all she'd been through, she'd had a few weak moments of wondering if that was really true. But no. Ultimately, she kept a loose grasp on her belief in love.

    So to hear Kaiba say otherwise? She's quite a bit thrown. And that feeling only increases as he continues to say everything she least expects him to say. It takes her a long time to speak again. ]


    I...don't think I hate you, either. Some of the things you've done and said, yes, but not you. Kind of in that "other woman" sort of way. Or "other man," in your case, even if you look amazing in a dress. Ahaha.

    [ She takes a breath. It's a...start. ]

    But if there's anything I learned after...everything, it's that I don't know anything about love, either. I'm trying, though. I still want to know what it really is. So that means making mistakes. Like a human would.

    [ Her gaze drops away, and her hand grips the edge of the table. More like how some AI would. Her dismay at that slips into her expression. ]

    You make things easier, at least. I can just be angry with you and forget most of that stuff. [ She laughs, but it's short-lived. ] Guess it works out just fine, right? You like when I'm like that.

    [ Another silence stretches on before she lets out a sigh. ] You'd think I'd just ask you to fix me. I'm sure you could do it. [ Slowly, she looks back, the tinge of dismay still there, but a soft sort of sincerity as well. ] Would you?
    neutronblast: (♚ protective)

    [personal profile] neutronblast 2021-09-04 04:49 pm (UTC)(link)
    [he doesn't particularly care for it, having his own attitude thrown back in hid face. but she isn't wrong; he preferred to be objective. pragmatic. efficient.

    there was nothing efficient about this. he really should just leave. but he lingers, against better judgment. he chooses to stay, against better judgment, because monika was a nightmare and a hot mess but he wasn't faring too well on that front either. the world was full of human beings, but much like monika, they always felt so far away.

    but she's trying. they both are. and that has to count for something.]


    I've made mistakes. But recognizing them and forging ahead anyway... there's nothing more human than that.

    [as her hand drifts to the table, his hand shifts to rest over it. fingers curling around her knuckles.]

    I can't reprogram you. Not really. I think it's something you'll have to learn for yourself.

    [and that too was utterly human: stumbling through life's lessons and getting right back up again.]
    divaricate: berks @ dw (infinity war ● 353)

    [personal profile] divaricate 2021-09-04 04:53 pm (UTC)(link)
    Does that mean the real meta fall power move is roasting pumpkin seeds and sprinkling a light amount of pumpkin spice seasoning — ? — on them instead of salt or whatever else?
    millenniumeyed: (I'm floating around in ecstasy;)

    [personal profile] millenniumeyed 2021-09-04 04:58 pm (UTC)(link)
    [Another instance of Seto being cute. Maybe he has a greater capacity for cuteness in him than anyone ever knew.]

    People generally don't interest me in this way. Or in general, if I'm honest.

    [He doesn't actually like being around people most of the time, hence living on an island. He liked being with his family. He enjoyed the company of his workers, to some extent. He enjoyed interacting with duelists. But by and large, he was a private man and preferred to avoid people. Between that and Cyndia, sex and intimacy just didn't have a part in his life, and the platonic relationships he had were more than enough to sustain him anyway.

    Drawing Seto a little lower into the water, submerging the back of his head, Pegasus gently threads his fingers through his hair to ensure it gets a good soak.]


    Maybe that'll change here. This was pleasant. Is pleasant. [And he doesn't feel too guilty about being with someone other than Cyndia. Not at this stage, anyway.] I'm surprised this - a general this - is up your alley, actually. You were so obsessed with games and work I wouldn't have thought you had the time nor inclination for this sort of thing.
    Edited 2021-09-04 16:58 (UTC)
    neutronblast: (♚ protective)

    [personal profile] neutronblast 2021-09-04 05:05 pm (UTC)(link)
    [seto can't help the heh of amusement at that not so surprising admission.]

    Yeah. I can see that.

    [he can also see why pegasus willingly sequestered himself. floating up in space was a similarly addicting feeling; he could observe the world without being part of it. he could peddle products from the safety of a stage without ever shaking a single hand. he liked being with his family, what little was left of it. but even then, he had abandoned it.

    he wasn't a private man. he no longer had that luxury. but he preferred to avoid people because it meant he wouldn't have to acknowledge he couldn't understand them at all.]


    And it probably will. We don't really have that choice anymore.

    [case in point: everything that had happened tonight. even if he swore not to regret it.]

    If it feels good, why not? Isn't that reason enough to do something?
    holeinwall: (You're nothin' but skin)

    [personal profile] holeinwall 2021-09-04 05:36 pm (UTC)(link)
    As many mistakes as I've made already? Yeah, I guess I'm fully human, then.

    [ There's that weak, barely humorous laugh again. She'd probably made enough mistakes in the past year to last an entire human lifetime. "Nightmare" and "hot mess" were understatements. But still, she was puttering along somehow. Still trying. Still living.

    Her eyelashes flutter as his warmth overwhelms her hand. Still weak as ever to contact, too, even more so when it's unexpected. And after the past few weeks? It's potent. Goosebumps blossom and spread, tingles washing over her in a rush. ]


    It's...it's fine. [ For a while, she'd forgotten how to speak. ] I wouldn't want you to anyway. I don't want anyone touching me in that way.

    [ Her other hand settles on top of his, sandwiching it firmly in place, determined to keep him there. This kind of touch was fine. ]

    Tell me a mistake you've made. I think I'm owed one, since you've seen so many of mine. [ A ghost of a smirk reappears. ] Just so I have the special privilege of knowing you're not perfect.
    millenniumeyed: (Wanna make a supersonic man out of you;)

    [personal profile] millenniumeyed 2021-09-04 05:38 pm (UTC)(link)
    [Conversely, Pegasus understood people too well, had seen thousands upon thousands of people laid bare, and most of the time, what he'd seen hadn't been the kind of thing that would inspire fondness. When you dug in deep enough, everyone was hiding some kind of rot.

    He frowns at the mention of choice, or the lack thereof. Hard not to realise that after the events of tonight, but he decides not to comment on it.]


    As good as playing a card game? Impossible. [He chuckles and ghosts his nails over Seto's scalp.] I suppose that's a good enough reason. Though, personally, I'd favour more substance to forays into intimacy.

    [He is a romantic. Of course he does.]
    twatter: ([ 151 ])

    [personal profile] twatter 2021-09-04 05:46 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ When he said he wanted to feel what got Kaiba off the most, Tech expected some kinky shit to come into play. Kaiba introducing him to some fetish of his or maybe some restraints. The sex club is probably equipped with all sorts of bondage needs from cuffs to collars to cock cages. But instead, Kaiba brings it one step further, circling to something personal.

    The way he wants Kaiba now, the way they're connected almost has him agreeing so they can continue on. But the biggest issue Tech has is the never want anyone else part because Ava instantly floods to his mind. He doesn't know what they are and what they might become, but he does know he likes her. ]


    What would that make us, Kaiba?

    [ Because that goes beyond a partnership. It crosses some invisible line that was probably crossed long ago, truthfully. ]