TEST DRIVE MEME 002

[happyheartsstaff]

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

© tessisamess

Comments

ii - a

[sadflutenoises]

[Wei Wuxian has been assigned at different stations around the kitchen at least three times now, before finally being set in front of the sandwich station. He insists he can cook perfectly fine, they all just have no taste, but apparently they disagree. Sandwiches are hard to mess up, they insist. Everything is pre-sliced, you just stack it in the right order and wrap it up in thin paper when it's done.

It's hard to miss the white robes, when the man settles in next to him, feeling around the cutting board for a potato. When he glances over though, it's not a Lan sect member at all. It's hard to be sure, with how much of his face is obscured behind bandages, but the man is definitely familiar.

He pauses in his work, studying him, and watching him move the knife with a wary eye.]

Ah... Careful, if you mess up, you'll end up on sandwich duty like me.

[gentlebreezes]

[Once Xingchen maps out the shape of the potato, he sets to chopping it in thin slices, moving his fingers along the tuber until complete. Then another is set down and he begins the process anew, though he pauses when a familiar voice greets his ears. He turns in his seat, but does not look up.

He knows this voice. Wait.

Setting down the knife, Xingchen pivots more to face his station mate.] I'm afraid sandwiches would not suit me.

[Considering the necessary order and stacking. At least with a potato, it only needs sliced, no matter the order.]

[sadflutenoises]

[When he speaks, it's hard to deny the similarities. And now that he's facing Wei Wuxian, the longer he looks the other man over, the more certain he becomes. It's definitely Xiao Xingchen, isn't it? But what happened since he saw him last? He'd seen Song Lan, briefly, when Wen Qing was treating him, and he'd worn a very similar bandage. Was it the result of another of Xue Yang's dirty tricks? Was this why he and Song Lan seemed to have had a falling out?]

Xiao-xiong?

[His sandwich-making is easily forgotten as he turns his attention on the other man.]

[gentlebreezes]

Mmm? [Xingchen pauses at the greeting. Oh. This must be--] Young Master Wei Wuxian.

[He clears his hands of the potato before sweeping his arms into a small bow. There isn't room to do a full bow with everything around them, but he will not forego basic niceties just because it's crowded.]

Are you well? [Because he has heard rumors of the dastardly Wei Wuxian and the Battle of the Nightless City from farmers and fishmongers alike during his wandering.]

[sadflutenoises]

[He fumbles a few of the ingredients to the floor in his haste to return the bow, but he's hardly bothered by it. The staff probably don't have the patience to send him to yet another station at this point anyway.]

That's right.

[Sandwich fixings are currently the last thing on his mind as he sits back down and leans on the countertop.]

Well enough. I was about to ask you the same. It's been a while, hasn't it?

[gentlebreezes]

[Xingchen can hear the clamour of various items falling to the floor, but he learned a long time ago not to try and catch anything on his own. Best to let it settle before retrieving or else risk damaging his hands, too. There's a lilt to Wei Wuxian's voice, a familiar bubbling energy that is far too contagious.

Offering a smile, Xingchen nods.] It has been. How have your travels treated you?

[His hands, meanwhile, map out the potato once more, to check if it fell with everything else. Luckily, it remains on the chopping board with the knife.]

[sadflutenoises]

[The smile is a welcome sight, and he's quick to return it, whether or not Xiao Xingchen can see it, hopefully he can still hear it in his voice. While he's nothing but curious about the man's injuries, even he knows it's rude to just ask.

Though it should be simple small-talk, it's a bit of a loaded question. Hiding has done him little good so far though.]

Better than one might expect for a man who's supposed to have died.

[He gives a short laugh.]

Where should I start? I haven't seen you since we parted ways after Xue Yang's capture.