TEST DRIVE MEME 003

[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. SHALL WE DANCE, SHALL WE FLY

Those of you hoping to make use of The Pool of Tears today are in for a disappointment — it appears to have been shut down for the day to make room for a special event! Dozens of small vehicles that resemble pink flamingos are parked along the grounds by the pool, and others are being flown above it with varying levels of skill.

People wearing name tags identifying them as guest instructors mingle around the parked vehicles to offer lessons on how to fly the flamingos. They'll also allow the flamingos to be checked out to be used for recreation, regardless of whether the person checking them out has had flying lessons or not.

Why is this taking place in the pool area and not outdoors, you may ask? Why, because a crash landing in water is so much softer on the bones than on solid land, of course.

Or perhaps you were hoping to spend some time at the Caucus-Race, making use of the hotel's private gym. It seems that, too, had been taken over for an event — dance lessons! There are more guest instructors there to lead dances of all kinds, from groups to couples to private instruction. Even if you didn't intend to partake of them when you came here, you may find yourself bustled away and facing your partner for the lesson before you know it.

Still another handful of guest instructors have set up in the Mad Tea-Party, offering a variety of art lessons — from paintings to drawing to pottery to glassblowing! Have a glass of wine, or something stronger, and try your hand at one! Anyone who chooses to do so will get to keep whatever masterpiece they produce.

II. WE TRADE IN FAVORS

The guest instructors aren't the only ones visiting the hotel today. It seems some traveling merchants have come to pitch their wares, and they've set up shop in the hotel lobby. There's display cases of delicately crafted jewelry, all manner of glassware, bolts of fabric, boxes of precious stones and crystal.

Why come to them when you can get what you need for free from the hotel's boutique? There's just no comparison when it comes to exquisite craftsmanship, of course, or the quality of their raw materials. But should you need a reason beyond that — there's something a little magical about their wares. This necklace is spelled to ward off evil, that circuit will grant clear thought, anything made from this bolt of cloth will always keep the wearer perfectly warm or cool, carrying that crystal will give a boost of healing or luck.

They deal only in trade. Teas, if you have them, will fetch the highest price and get you the most unique items. If you don't happen to have a tea, you're not out of luck — they will also accept favors. Perhaps they will ask you to convince someone else to make a purchase as well, perhaps they will send you on a hunt for a specific item. Perhaps they will ask you for something more intangible, like the shape of a smile or the salt of tears. Not your own, of course, you must inspire them in someone else. Hopefully there's someone nearby who can help you with that.

III. SECRET MESSAGES

By your second or third pass around the hotel, after all the visitors have left, you may notice something that looks a little out of place. A loose rock in the otherwise solid structures of the pool area, a shimmer of green tucked in among all the white abstract sculptures in a hallway, an odd knot in the wood of a bench or chair somewhere in the hotel.

No members of the staff seem to have noticed it so far, but for that to remain the case you'll have to work quickly — and work together. Maybe the rock is up too high for one person to reach, maybe the sculptures are too heavy for one person to move, maybe someone needs to stand guard or distract the hotel staff while the other pries out the wood knot.

All those who succeed in retrieving the piece of heavy green paper hidden away will find the same message: a drawing of a caterpillar, accompanied by a series of numbers and the words call a friend.

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?

Anyone who participates in the second prompt will receive an item with a minor enchantment of their choosing! For players apping in this round, you can include it in your list of items. Current players can reply to the second comment on this page to receive approval of their enchanted item. 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

[billowing]

He nods resolutely. Except, here's the thing. He hardly knows Wu Xie, so how is he supposed to know what sort of things make him cry? He never tries to make anyone cry on purpose; the last person he'd made cry was Wei Ying and his solution for that was an immediate proposal, which brings him to this.

He clears his throat, and starts reciting:

"The times are hard: a year of famine has emptied the fields,
My brothers live abroad- scattered west and east.
Now fields and gardens are scarcely seen after the fighting,
Family members wander, scattered on the road.
Attached to shadows, like geese ten thousand li apart,
Or roots uplifted into September's autumn air.
We look together at the bright moon, and then the tears should fall,
This night, our wish for home can make five places one."

[gravescholar]

That certainly was a beautiful piece. It was seeped in sadness, tinged with melancholy and a soft touch of wistfulness. But Wu Xie wasn't exactly the kind of person whom that would work so well on. Soft-hearted he might be, but he also had a pragmatic soul. Such flowing words did not really touch him enough to bring him to tears.

"Young Master Lan," he replies, shaking his head. "That's beautiful but it's also too much effort. All you need to say is 'When you die -'" It takes him a moment because he barely has admitted this to himself. He hasn't yet said it in his heart, let alone out loud.

"'When you die, Xiao-ge will forget how to smile.'"

[billowing]

He doesn't know what to say to that, his eyes widening slightly as if being told a terribly personal secret so casually. In a way, it's true.

"If you die," he modifies, because he's been on the receiving end of this once and it was not a good time for anybody, really. "Xiao-ge will forget how to smile."

He waits for this to sink in with Wu Xie, though he wishes to quickly gather these tears and tell him some good news: it's not entirely true.

[gravescholar]

Admitting it was one thing but hearing it from someone else? It was a lot tougher. He didn't know Lan Wangji that well, but it didn't matter. He had to prepare himself for later on, whenever later on happens. If he can get out of here, he would be back where he belonged, slowly dying while his friends carried on living.

He wasn't prepared for it. He needed to prepare.

Swallowing hard, he closes his eyes and breathes out through his nose. He could feel them at the back of his throat, behind his eyes. Just another push.

"Pangzi will forget his time in the light."

[billowing]

He isn't going to comment on how he calls one of his friends pangzi, but instead, he takes a deep breath and repeats, "Pangzi will forget his time in the light."

He understands that Wu Xie has some friends he cares about, but he wonders... why does this man feel like he will die and leave them behind?

[gravescholar]

It was a fond term, a familiar one dating back to when they first met, the big grave robber with the bigger voice standing in front of the rest calling himself Pangzi at the top of his lungs. Wu Xie knew his real name, just like he knew Xiao-ge's but they would always be Xiao-ge and Pangzi to him. They were the Iron Triangle - Tianzhen the mind, Xiao-ge the body and Pangzi the stomach.

And there they were, slow tears that he was hiding since the news, since those scans and the doctor who gave him a look when he said he couldn't stay in the hospital. The tears won't last long - he had things he had to do, but at least a little bit should help.

[billowing]

He is sorry, that he's done this, that instead of handing Wu Xie a tissue he's there to collect his tears that don't number too many - he wasn't expecting much of anything, in any case.

He caps the vial in his hands, and safely tucks it into his sleeve for now. But more importantly, he tells Wu Xie: "Your friends will mourn you, and never forget you. But time will heal them, enough to move forward. You must believe that."

[gravescholar]

It just takes a few deep breaths and a slight cough to clear out the last of them. Wu Xie wipes at the last remaining ones and then nods.

"I do understand. Our work isn't always safe even in the best of times."

Even the best intentions was followed by waves of people trying to cash in on other's hard work. Poachers and looters, dealers and people who think they deserve the riches. Grave robbing was only one step in a long line of darkness and his Iron Triangle was a small light in the gloom.

[billowing]

"Mm. Even so, you cannot think of death," he says. He knows how easy it is to let such thoughts overtake and consume him, to leave him rendered useless to live his life. But, he'd had a son he needed to care for, and that made him get out of his slump and keep going.

He's going to assume that's not an option.

[gravescholar]

He chuckles, looking down for a moment at the concern that Lan Wangji seems to hold for him. They barely knew each other and yet here he was, trying to make him feel better. It was nice.

"That's what I tell myself, but sometimes you can't make the world listen to reality." Wu Xie reaches up intending to pat him on the shoulder before remembering that touches were not welcomed so much. Smile turning rueful, he changed direction to rub the back of his neck instead.

"Doctors said that I have six months tops, though someone with better hearing says it's three months before I choke on my own blood."

[billowing]

Three months. Six if he's lucky. Yeah, he doesn't have a response for sickness - that's not something he can cure. It's not something anyone can cure.

"I am sorry to hear," he responds, politely, but his voice heavy, genuine. It's true that he hardly knows Wu Xie, but he doesn't need to. Lives, despite what most on his world think, are not cheap.