funnyhearts | TEST DRIVE MEME 002

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TEST DRIVE MEME 002

HAPPY HEARTS HOTEL

You wake up in a padded box. It rocks, gently, as though suspended in mid-air. You begin to stir, confusion or distress pushing you to try to sit up — and then the air begins to smell sweet, and you fall back asleep.

You wake up in a padded box. For a moment, you are beatifically calm. You don't know how you got here, or why, but that isn't really all that important. You don't need to know where you are. You're just... here. And here is a wonderful place to be.

But there is a niggling suspicion growing in the back of your mind. A suspicion that here is not somewhere you wanted to be. That it is not where you're supposed to be. You remember... chasing a white rabbit (or was it a person)? A mirror? Bright light, and green ivy crawling over your skin... Before you can worry too much, the box jolts, and then settles, and after a long moment the walls fall from around you to reveal —

A hotel lobby?

"Welcome to the Happy Hearts Hotel and Casino," says an attendant behind a desk. "We're so pleased you could join us. We have your room keys and Empathies here, please make an orderly line and we'll hand them out once we've confirmed identities. After that, feel free to explore the hotel! We highly recommend starting with the casino. Everyone's a winner here in Happy Hearts!"

Is this normal? It doesn't feel normal. And hey — you could swear you had shoes before!

I. THIS IS OUR GET ALONG SHIRT

You haven't been at the hotel long when you run into another Oyster. Hardly unusual for the hotel, after all. But there's something about this person, something that draws you in. Do you know them? Perhaps they're from your world, perhaps you've seen them around the hotel before, or perhaps you've never met at all?

No matter. Hopefully you enjoy this person's company, because suddenly you're unable to go more than a few feet away from each other. Maybe it's like a cord that snaps you both back together when you try, invisible but somehow there all the same. Maybe it's a feeling, a desire to stay together, a fear of being apart. Maybe it's physical pain when you're separated, and the sensation of comfort or pleasure when you're together. Maybe it's any combination of the above.

Whatever it is, looks like you'll be getting to know each other very well. The connection doesn't appear to be going away any time soon.

II. HONORARY STAFF FOR A DAY

It seems the hotel is a little short-handed at the moment. Why? Oh, no particular reason. These things happen to every establishment, of course. But since you're here, would you mind lending a hand? It's a two person job, and the staff member giving out assignments is just far too busy to help. Find a partner and report to your assigned area! They're preparing for something very exciting the Queen is putting on for guests. And of course, you'll be rewarded for your assistance.

There are a number of possible tasks that you could be assigned to.

Perhaps you'll be asked to assist with food preparation. You and your partner will be granted temporary access to the back area of the buffet to work with the kitchen staff — you can cook, can't you? Well. Perhaps you can put together some sandwiches. It will soon be clear that the food you're helping to prepare is all things that would be perfect for a picnic. Staff members will cheerfully inform anyone asking questions that the food is for the Queen's special surprise.

Or perhaps you'll be put to work sorting and cataloging a large inventory of items. Sleeping bags, tarps, pillows, toiletries, first aid kits, fire starting materials; all must be counted and sorted. A staff member will hand out a number of backpacks, and request that each be packed with one of every item. Not to worry about the size — each pack will have exactly enough room to store all the items.

Still others may be placed in a room lined with bookcases overflowing with books and loose leaf pamphlets. Examination of these will find that all are related to identifying native Wonderland plant life. Some are about edible plants, some discuss those that are medicinal, or poisonous, or likely to try to eat you should you get too close. Buried in all of that, you may even stumble across a particular poem. You will be given heavy card paper, pens and water colors, and tasked with condensing the information into portable, easy to read info packets.

At the end of the work shift, anyone who assists will have the expressed gratitude of the staff members they supported. They will also find an additional item from home, aside from what they were carrying with them, waiting for them in their room.

III. TIME TO UNWIND

What better way to unwind after a long day of work than with a massage? A staff member will hand you a token for the hotel spa. Yes, yes, all services are free, but this is an enhanced service. Premium massage oils, access to a relaxing tea, the devoted attention of the most skilled massage therapist, all for you.

When you arrive to take advantage of the offer, you'll find another Oyster waiting there as well. Did the staff member not mention it was a couple's massage? Oh dear, it must have slipped their mind. Or perhaps they just assumed, given how so many of you Oysters seem to be in pairs. Well, you're both here, you might as well take advantage of it.

Or perhaps something that gets the heart pumping is more to your speed than relaxation. A staff member may excitedly tell you about a rave occurring at the The Rabbit Hole nightclub. Invitation only, of course, but the staff member is happy to tell you the code to get in.

There is indeed a party in full swing at the club that night. Live music, flashing lights, alcohol flowing freely, the works. You may find that the alcohol packs more of a punch than you're used to. You may even find that drinks that are supposed to be nonalcoholic, ones that you've had before in other parts of the hotel, suddenly pack quite a punch as well.

It's all in the name of enjoying yourself, right? Hopefully you won't be too hungover in the morning.

IV. WELCOME HOME

Maybe you just want to be alone — well, that's what you have your room key for! Oysters room on the second and third floors of the hotel, one to a room. You were assured your room would be exactly what you'd always wished for — and for some, that's right! It's exactly as you would have decorated it yourself. But for others, their rooms are totally wrong. A grizzled cowboy can't have a pink room! Hotel staff are firm, though: every room is exactly as its owner wants it to be. Search your feelings, Oyster. You know it to be true.

On each bed are the Oysters' personal effects, minus weapons, as well as a towel folded in the shape of a heart, and a single foil-wrapped chocolate. If eaten, the chocolate is delicious, and incites a feeling of tender warmth in Oysters — not lust, but a desire for closeness. Why spend time in your room, when you could go find a new friend in the casino?

For purposes of the TDM, you're welcome to play with having more than one linked partner! If you choose to app in the next round after playing on the TDM, there will be an extra add on to the application for you to claim your additional item from home. Please direct any questions to the first comment on this page, and happy playing, Oysters!

PREMISE RULES FAQ TAKEN RESERVES APPLICATION MOD CONTACT HIATUS & DROPS WORLD INFO NPCS CALENDAR AC REWARDS

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It's relaxing to sit and watch Lan Wangji paint, those long rabbit ears drooping down to frame either side of his face. He watches as the turtle takes shape on the picture.

"I can turn into that." He can turn into anything at the moment. But being a little turtle wouldn't be as cute as a rabbit.

Lan Wangji took a few moments to think as he finishes painting a turtle scuttling on the painted sandy shore.

"Wei Ying, when you shape-shifted like this, did you drink a tea? Remember, whenever you use your powers, you exert yourself."

Dipping the brush into the bowl, he paints another turtle.

"You're fine being a rabbit."

"Of course I drank a tea! How else would this happen?" He watches the second turtle take shape.

"I haven't done too much. I've only been a rabbit." Well he did change into a couple other things but so far he feels okay. "Maybe it won't be like using Inquiry. Maybe I will be fine." Too many maybes..

Lan Wangji thought about it. "If you can shape-shift into anything, then..."

He looks at Wei Ying, looking into his eyes. "There was a time when you're very handsome in your first life. You have long hair and you let it down. When you look like that, that's the Wei Ying I remember so vividly."

He looks at the other man and there is a small twinge in his heart. The one Lan Wangji sees in his memory...is his other self? At least that is how he understands it. But he nods and changes into the other version of himself. His original body, original face..everything except the clothes because he can't quite get a handle on how to change with clothing. But his face is just how it once was. The face that his soul-twin still gets to have...

Mo Xuanyu..apparently your face isn't good enough for either Lan Wangji. He smiles, an expression that lights up his old appearance as it once did even though it doesn't extend into his heart.

"Is this how you remember me?"

In that moment as he watches Wei Ying transformed before his very eyes, he begins to trembled with emotion. From the hairstyle, the eyes, the way he originally looks since his youth, the smile. He gazes at him longingly, completely entranced.

"...Wei Ying is always Wei Ying. But this is how I remembered you, yes." Reaching out to cup his face, carressing the side of his profile with the back of his hand, not wanting to pull away.

"..." Without saying another word, although his expression said nothing, tears form at his eyes, dripping down, and he catches his tears as he felt his own brokenness from the years he was gone. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't ask this of you."

He looks away, his own heart shattering into tiny pieces. He figures Lan Wangji is crying because this is the version of Wei Wuxian he wants. That in his heart, no one else will do. And that the version he is stuck with right now..isn't good enough. The soul is the same but the one that Lan Wangji loves, died in the burial mounds.

"It's okay Lan Zhan...I can't keep this face for very long but I can let you see it for awhile. You don't have to be sad."

He will never be able to beat the person he used to be...The body that Lan Wangji fell in love with. But there is someone else in the hotel that can fill that need for both of them. And it isn't him. He should have seen that sooner.

He looks back at the other man, at least these old eyes can gaze at him for a little longer. "Don't cry, Lan Zhan. You can still see this face everyday." There is still someone in this hotel that has it.

He can see that his request made Wei Ying hurt, but he didn't understand the complexity of his grief. It's correct that the one he loves had died in the buried mounds.

"No. It's you I want. It's this body of yours that I wasn't able to said good-bye properly. When you were gone, I went searching for you. I cannot find your body."

Without saying another word, he tilts his head and closes the distance between them to give him a crushing desperate kiss to release whatever grief is still in his heart.

Wei Wuxian still doesn't know what to do, or what to think. But as those lips crush down against his, he feels almost numb. He kisses him back, wanting him to feel better from whatever seeing his former appearance did to stir his heart. He wishes he could keep this form if that is what would make Lan Wangji happy.

Before he had been a little happy that he never had to worry about being mistaken for his soul-twin..but now that he shares that face again, he wishes that was the problem he had. It would be easier then accepting that this body would never compare to the other.

He clings to the front of Lan Wangji's robes as they kiss, realizing that the tears he had so desperately held back before are now easily streaming down his face. As if afraid that this kiss is the last one he might get to have.

He kisses him passionately, out of desperation, in a tight lip lock. Memories rushed fast through his mind from their youth to the time he has stolen his kiss in Phoenix mountain, to the funeral where he forced himself to accept he died.

When the kiss is over and he sees what happened before him, reeling himself back from the past, and into the present, he made Wei Ying cry again. Feeling immense guilt for feeling incredibly selfish.

"..." There was an awkward silence between the both of them. Unable to find words. He waited for Wei Wuxian to collect his thoughts to form any words. In fear, he suddenly felt constriction and pain in his chest. When Wei Ying feels sad and in pain, he feels the same suffering.

His response is to immediately change back into the rabbit. Certainly rabbits don't cry...And this way he doesn't have to look Lan Wangji in the eye. So instead, the small gray fuzzy creature disappears into a pile of sheer white robe. He doesn't have to deal with having either face if he looks like this.

Because Lan Wangji likes rabbits. And even if he can't make him happy with his new body. At least as a rabbit..he knows he will hold and care for him. Even if it is a temporary change like all the others.

He changed again. "...You overexert yourself." He repeats. Did he hurt Wei Ying enough to turn into a rabbit? Rabbits don't talk. They just need hugs and care. They just need to be cute. It's more simplistic and less complicated.

He picks up his robes and puts it on. Very gently he scoops the rabbit up in his arms. He waited for the paintings on the table to dry. He will keep them.

Eventually, he felt better but learned a lesson that he will never request Wei Ying to change who he isn't or never was out of his own selfishness. That includes reliving the past.

In silence, almost in a lethargy, he gathered the drawings they did together. Holding the rabbit in his arms, he left the room to go back to the elevator.

He doesn't have to tell Lan Wangji that he can talk in this form. It's easier this way. His ears are flat against his head as he rests in the man's arms. He just needs a little time to be able to figure out how to process the things that were said in the room. He knows he could just pretend that everything is fine, smile and move on, but that doesn't make it hurt any less.

He'll take the time as they are walking to try and decide what to do. For now he can just enjoy the comfort of those arms as he lays in them. It feels just like it does when he human, warm and strong around him.

Lan Wangji felt morose. Once again, Wei Ying doesn't understand or remember...as he explained to him before that it's only him that he is in love with. Always had, always been, no matter what form.

However, he made a promise that he won't be angry at Wei Ying no matter what happens. If anything, he felt a heaviness in his heart and resignation and accept Wei Ying as he is, as gently as he could.

With the rabbit and paintings in hand, he ordered to the staff to have the paint and paper to be delivered to his room. Riding the elevator up, then exiting on his floor, and upon arrival to his room, there's a staff member that brought a tray of paper and painting supplies.

Taking those into his room, he laid the rabbit on his bed, and without saying a word, he made up his mind to past the afternoon to paint pictures.

It's up to Wei Ying to decide if he's ready to talk to him again, but Lan Wangji is sullen and unhappy. Talk about what just happened or leave the room to get some space.

However, as time went on after a few moment of silence without looking at him as he stare at the blob of colors on the paper, trying to understand his feelings.

"No matter what form you taken now. You're still the man I'm in love with. There is no other."

After he gets set on the bed he snuggles down into the blanket and closes his eyes. There is silence as he rests and Lan Wangji paints. His heart feels heavy. He doesn't think that he can handle another disappointment, especially after having finally been able to accept each others feelings. He used to be so carefree, why does he feel so weighted down now?

At some point he changes back to his normal form, either from exhaustion from holding the bunny form or just not wanting to hide any more. He wraps the blanket around himself as he lays there on his stomach.

"Even though I don't look like me any more? I'm not the handsome man you feel in love with.." Those words hurt like knives through his heart.

Lan Wangji is silent. While he's holding the brush, he cannot focus on painting anything. It's a blob, a mess of paint on the paper. Whatever shred of perfection he has, it crumbles once again as he realized, in the error of his request, how unkind he is to him.

He cannot keep silent on the hurt. So, gathering his courage, he rose up from where he's at. He stood by his bedside and kneeled on his knees at his level. Even if Wei Ying is not facing him. It doesn't matter if it hurts, his body went through so much hurt, but nothing hurts like the silence of the heart.

His voice soft, "Wei Ying, forgive me. My request is a selfish one and it hurt you, and I do not know. No, you are in this body now. This is the one that I intend to be with and care for, for the rest of my life if you let me and allow it. You don't look like that anymore, this I know. I like this form better because it has a gentle smile and the sweetest laugh, and eyes I can look into forever and see myself in them. If I don't hear it everyday, then it's my fault that I'm not fun."

With sincerity, "Wei Ying, I apologize. For my selfishness. I was unkind to you."

Edited 2020-06-30 03:49 (UTC)

He looks at Lan Wangji from where his head peaks out of the blanket. He notes the sincerity as he listens to the words and slowly moves the blanket down so it's no longer covering part of his face.

"Even if my body isn't the same, my soul is. And it just hurt a little that you might have preferred my original one over this. I can't exactly get it back except for right now. I don't want you to be unhappy because I can't ever be that person again."

Lan Wangji fell in love with him when he looked different. He can understand if there is a change in those feelings. The shock of seeing him in a different body was probably pretty big..perhaps not as big as the shock of him actually being back.

But all he wants is for Lan Wangji to be happy, and if he isn't able to do that, then he wants him to be with someone who will.

Lan Wangji was hopeful when he finally heard him, at last. He was doubtful if he could ever have his own voice heard by him. "Wei Ying, I know it was you. You told me back in the mountain. I know it's your soul and your memories." He stated quietly. "You may not remember everything, but you have to think this through."

"I don't expect anything of you. Your current body is fine. I am not unhappy. I will only get unhappy when Wei Ying is unhappy, and...you're unhappy now because I'm being a fool."

He felt so tired. He hurt him, and he's trying hard to convince him. "You don' t have to be that person again." He is still kneeling there, taking it.

"I made up my mind to stay with you. I'm always happy with you, with the way things are. So, Wei Ying. You don't have to change. You don't have to be happy or unhappy all the time. You're still you and think of this way. This is a second chance at happiness, but we have to work together for it."

He pushes himself up so he is sitting, letting the blanket pool around his waist. A small shiver as cold air hits naked flesh. It was much warmer being a rabbit, and now he is nothing but exposed both physically and emotionally as Lan Wangji lays his heart on the line.

"I want us to be happy, Lan Zhan. More then anything." He just wants all the bad things that keep trying to pull them apart to stop happening. He wants the misunderstandings that they keep enduring to fade away. How many times can they truly fail to understand what each of them wants when it's the same thing?

He holds out his arms to the other man, wanting to pull him into an embrace and feel those strong arms hold him close as if they never want to ever let him go. Wei Wuxian isn't gong to let a mistake break them apart this time.

He realized Wei Wuxian has a tendency to make mistakes, all the time, again and again, but he is used to it. Each time he did, it makes him tired and it takes a toll. But he's determined that he won't let Wei Wuxian endured it alone.

He climbs onto the bed. The bedsheets smell like sandalwood, but the sandalwood scent on Lan Zhan is much stronger. Reaching out to him, he pulls Wei Wuxian into a hug, embracing him.

"I am happy. Happy that you came back. That I'll accept Wei Ying as Mo Xanuyu too. It's all of you. Past, present, and future."

Cupping his face gently with both of his hands, cradling, and looking at him as he is the most treasured person in the entire world. "I want to make love to this body. Here and now. Whenever you wish. I'll do it again. Everyday."

"Everyday." That is the promise that he had made the first time they were together. He may have not realized the extent of that promise at the time, but he does now and he has no regrets about making it.

"I love you, Lan Zhan." Which is why it hurts so much any time they misunderstand each other. He knows that now. He wants to be able to trust himself and Lan Wangji that no matter what nothing will ever change the way they feel.

He feels his heart mending back together after the pain it felt in the other room.

It was his fault. He only sees what his eyes wanted to see, even though he was broken long after he was gone. Three years in solitary confinement. Meanwhile, his back bled and there days he felt numb and nothing. Not a day goes by that he hasn't thought of him.

Holding his arms, he gently rocks him back and forth. He's here now. That's all that matters. He doesn't have to understand. He just has to be here.

"I love you too, Wei Ying." He buried his face on his shoulder, inhaling his scent. "Aren't you cold? I can go fetch your clothes for you."

"I'm okay Lan Zhan. I have the blankets and you to keep me warm." Clothes hardly seem necessary considering they will just fall off if he shifts again. And he doesn't really need to go anywhere. He is perfectly content right where he is.

He would rather stay in Lan Wangji's arms all day versus going back out in the hotel.

If he's content to stay where he is, to stay and sleep in his room on his bed, and seeking his warmth. He loosens his arms from the hug.

"I have the copy of the key to your room. I would like you to stay with me. Stay here with me tonight and for as long as you wish. It won't take me long to get your robe."

"You're going to just leave me naked and alone in your room? That's almost cruel Lan Zhan.."

He's pouting playfully as his fingers play with the edge of Lan Wangji's robe. He remembers what he said the first time they were together when they were discussing what their first time would be like. Well..that hadn't happened because they got impatient. But now they are in his room and they had a chance to make that part of the dream a reality if Lan Wangji wanted to.

HAPPY HEARTS HOTEL

I. THIS IS OUR GET ALONG SHIRT

II. HONORARY STAFF FOR A DAY

III. TIME TO UNWIND

IV. WELCOME HOME

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