funnyhearts | TEST DRIVE MEME 003

TEST DRIVE MEME 003

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!

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True, but he has no need to read through what the paper says. Perhaps it has a hint about what they've done to seal his spiritual powers.

"What does it say, gege?" he asks, voice like honey.

If Xie Lian isn't panicking over being kidnapped and put here, there's no reason for Hua Cheng to be concerned. After all, they were both here. That's all he really needed.

His need to panic over their predicament is greatly calmed because of Hua Cheng's presence there with him. If he had been sent alone it would have been a far different scenario. But seeing how they were brought here together he felt more confident they could solve the puzzle that would take them home. Not having powers isn't anything new to Xie Lian so he isn't terribly bothered by not being able to do anything. His only sadness being that the typically lively silk wrapped around his arm lacks the personality that it normally does.

"There is a picture and a series of numbers." He moves closer so that he can show, Hua Cheng what is written. It would have made just as much sense to hand the piece of paper back to the other man, but without even thinking, he had simply closed the distance between them and kept the note himself.

It might make more sense to just hold it up and show him, but he would never complain about getting to lean over gege's shoulder, brushing a lock of hair behind his ear, surveying it.

"A puzzle?" he asks, looking it over with his good eye. He is, naturally, missing E-Ming from where it usually hangs around his waist. It's a shame; if he's honest with just himself, he almost sort of misses it.

"Maybe it's a note left for us by someone who's managed to escape," he whispers. They're like the murals at Tong'lu.

"Why would they take the chance of getting caught again just to deliver a note?" He turns his head to look at Hua Cheng, realizing just how close that puts their faces. His ears heat up and he feels that little unsteady rhythm to his heart. He quickly turns to look back down at the piece of paper.

Returning to some place unsafe to try and warn others kind of sounds like something he would do if he were to be honest. So perhaps it isn't as strange of a concept as he made it seem. But if that is the case and someone is trying to help them escape, then it would be in their best interest to try and find them.

"If that is the case and someone is trying to help, perhaps if we input these numbers somewhere a clue on how to escape will be given."

"Gege, let's figure it out together," he offers, one hand reassuringly on Xie Lian's shoulder. It's obviously for reassurance and nothing else, obviously.

They should definitely do it somewhere else though, as to not be conspicuous. "They've given me a room, if you'd like to come up." He wouldn't want to presume or anything, but Xie Lian is always welcome where San Lang is.

"Of course. It would be better to figure this out in private." He was given a room as well and it is oddly familiar. It's a strange ability to be able to make a room look so much like the inside of a rundown temple. He is curious to see what room Hua Cheng was assigned.

He smiles up at the other man, "Let's go to your room. I would like to see it."

He nods and reaches out for Xie Lian's hand to take it as they walk together. You know, just in case Xie Lian gets lost or something. It's obviously just very courteous.

Xie Lian follows along as he gets lead towards Hua Cheng's room, trying not to think too much about the hand being held in his own as his fingers curl around it. Hua Cheng is obviously just making sure he stays close in this strange place. Although he hasn't really encountered anything dangerous, it doesn't mean that there couldn't be. Nothing is ever quite as it seems, which is quite the case in regards to their lives a lot of the time.

"Is your room also like some place back home?"

"En," he responds, nodding, looking a little concerned for a moment but covering it with a smile for his Dianxia. "It looks just like my chamber in Paradise Manor," he says. "But nothing else of Paradise Manor."

Still, this means there's at least a bed, tall and fancy and generously-sized, perfect for him but with room for another person, perhaps a Gege-sized person.

He is sure Hua Cheng's room is far more comfortable then his own, not that he considers the temple to be uncomfortable. He just knows that his chambers at Paradise Manor are indeed more lavish. Not that he is thinking that he would want to stay in that room more then his own or anything..he is simply thinking about how different their rooms are.

"This place certainly goes to great lengths to try and make us comfortable and perhaps distract us from desires of trying to leave." Why else would they make their rooms so familiar? It is clearly a technique to try and lull them into a sense of comfort when really it is a wolf in sheeps clothing.

"En, gege is correct. But it is pointless. I have the manor at home, why wouldn't I want to leave if there is one here?" he asks. "Perhaps this means, they have destroyed out home."

Not that, in the case of the temple, that would really matter. They really needed to build a new one anyway, and put up a better icon of Dianxia.

The poor temple is already falling over, it won't take much for it's time to end. But that doesn't mean it lacks in charm. But what Hua Cheng says bothers him quite a bit.

"Why would they want to do that? What would their gain be?" He has heard that this places feeds on emotions and perhaps by destroying their homes it would incite many strong ones. But since they have no way of knowing if that has occurred, then there doesn't seem to be a reason to spark those emotions.

"Maybe this place is more geared to those that have lost their homes from something. Giving them what they no longer have."

In which case wouldn't it have been wiser to choose a setting from far in Xie Lian's past versus the temple?

He looks at Xie Lian with concerned eyes. "Dianxia, they do not want to give us refuge." He is certain about this. "They took away E-ming-- and Fang Xin. And my spiritual energy."

Did Xie Lian know that? Surely he must have known that, Fang Xin is missing, and also, his shoes. For some reason.

But the more important thing is, they wouldn't have taken away their weapons and their powers if the thing they wanted to do was help them and provide them a new home. In all honesty, Hua Cheng was doing pretty well for himself, he and his gege. He trusted that, in his absence, the ghosts wouldn't have usurped him.

"I know..even Ruoye is nothing more then a plain wrapping right now." The lack of shoes certainly doesn't bother him, it's more of an oddity then an inconvenience. But Ruoye and the spiritual energy is concerning.

He gives Hua Cheng's arm a pat, "We will figure it out San Lang. There has to be answers some where and perhaps this piece of paper is part of what we need to get them."

If nothing else he is confident that they can figure things out. They have had good success in unwrapping the mysteries that the heavens have sent him on.

Edited 2020-08-26 02:55 (UTC)

"En," he responds, "Gege will figure it out." But he'll look at the paper, and tries to figure out what it says.

Except, maybe there's another piece to it because it looks coded. "We should look for another paper," he says, wondering if they can find another piece of bright paper. It shouldn't be hard.

And going on a scavenger hunt with Dianxia will be fun. But first, they can get to the mini Paradise Manor. Perhaps they can use it as a home base.

"Ah! that is a good idea. Perhaps with more we will understand more of the code. You give me too much credit San Lang..you're the one who just came up with that plan after all."

He hadn't noticed any other notes but he also hadn't been looking. That particular one had just been in his line of sight when he was walking. But now he gets a bit excited at the idea of going on a hunt.

But the curiosity over Hua Cheng's room must be satisfied first!

Once he opens the door, he guides Xie Lian into his room, and it looks almost just like home, with a huge bed big enough for two. Or five. Just, you know, in case gege gets tired of living at Puji.

"Make yourself at home," he requests, placing an arm around Xie Lian's shoulders and leaning in to quickly kiss his temple.

His face heats up at the kiss and he feels his heart flip over in his chest. He tries to distract himself from the feelings that causes to rise inside of him by looking around the room. But he doesn't push away, rather content to stay right there at Hua Cheng's side.

"It really is very much like at home." He is impressed by the detail as if they had just picked up the room and dropped it into this place. Someone's eye for detail is as good as the best of sculptors.

"Whomever is able to do this is very skilled." And probably dangerous.

"En," he replies, having the same thought. After all, it took him several tries to get a statue to look good. But he stays by Dianxia, and feels better as he takes a deep breath into his hair.

"I will get you a key," he adds, because he assumes that Xie Lian will want to come over whenever he wishes.

"San Lang..you're going to distract us from the task at hand." Because Xie Lian is already feeling rather distracted by the man's actions and the fact that they are now in his room. He hardly thinks he needs a key, considering any time he would be coming back to this place he would likely be with the one it belongs to. But he won't turn it down if Hua Cheng wishes him to have it.

"Ah, gege, where is your mind?" he teases. "I only want to make it comfortable here in case we are unable to return today. And it's better if we stay close," he says sweetly.

"Ah! AH Of course! I'm not thinking anything!" Xie Lian tries to wave off the thought that he is inferring anything odd is going on in his head. Only Hua Cheng can get him to be flustered in any way. "And I agree that we should stay close until we have a better feeling of this place."

"We can go to gege's rooms, if you prefer," he suggests. He would just go along with whatever Xie Lian wanted, obviously. He just thinks perhaps it's more comfortable in these quarters, hm?

"It's okay San Lang. This room is definitely better then my own." At least this one has something soft to sit or lay on. His own is..sparsely furnished. Not particularly suitable to be a bedroom but it is the space he is most familiar with and so it is one he doesn't mine spending time in if necessary. That is if they really are trapped in this place long term.

"Should we figure out the code?"

"Let's go see if we can find another slip of paper."

And since they'll be staying in the same room, he hands the key to Xie Lian. After all, if they get separated, he won't want to sleep anyway.

HAPPY HEARTS HOTEL

I. SHALL WE DANCE, SHALL WE FLY

II. WE TRADE IN FAVORS

III. SECRET MESSAGES

IV. WELCOME HOME

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