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

[lucklessgege]

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?

[illegibly]

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.

[lucklessgege]

"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.

[illegibly]

"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.

[lucklessgege]

"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!

[illegibly]

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.

[lucklessgege]

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.

[illegibly]

"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.

[lucklessgege]

"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.

[illegibly]

"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.

[lucklessgege]

"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."

[illegibly]

"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?

[lucklessgege]

"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?"

[illegibly]

"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.

[lucklessgege]

He takes the key and tucks it into a safe place in his robes. It's odd having to use it to open the doors but it is just another quirk of this place to get used to. He walks over and sets the piece of paper down on the bed. Since they don't want to lose it and will be coming back to the room anyway, it is safer to leave it behind. He then turns and comes back to the door.

"I'm ready to go. Where should we start?"

[illegibly]

"Not at the pool, they wouldn't place them so close together. We should look somewhere that has foot traffic and plenty of places to hide something."

That doesn't narrow it down, it's a hotel. "Perhaps the bathrooms."

[lucklessgege]

"The bathrooms?" It seems like a random place to start but it's as good a place as any. It would be a high traffic area, particularly because of how busy the hotel seems to be right now. "Alright. Let's go downstairs and work our way around starting at the bathrooms and see what we can find."

He moves back out into the hallway and turns to the other man, "We will try to find two more. If the message is the same then we will know that we don't have to use any more time to find others." But if there are multiple messages then he could be similar to the tapestries that were in the temples at Wuyong. Needing many to unravel the story.

[illegibly]

He nods. They should at least go look for one more.

The bathroom seems as good a place to start as any, and it's closer to some of the other public areas. He takes Dianxia's hand again, and walks him out of the room so they can head out.

[lucklessgege]

He curls his fingers around Hua Cheng's and watches the other from the corner of his eye. Wondering how he is handling not having access to any of his spiritual power. Xie Lian is fairly used to it but he knows it is probably unsettling for most people here.

"We will definitely be able to get home."

[illegibly]

"En, of course gege." But he feels a little bit more useless than usual, considering he trained all these years specifically to help Xie Lian, and it feels right now it's all for naught, that he's failed. And so he looks forward unhappily, and clings onto Xie Lian.

[lucklessgege]

"We should take this opportunity to see what we can learn about this place. If we do find out how to get home, it might be more complicated then simply having a code. And I'd like to be able to help everyone to return as well." He doesn't want to simply jump into leaving if there is the chance to save everyone. As much as he would like to return, doing so and knowing he left others behind would bother him.

[illegibly]

Of course Gege would want to bring home everyone, to help everyone. San Lang will help him no matter what, of course. He starts heading towards the elevator, hand firmly grasping Xie Lian's, fingers lacing together.

[lucklessgege]

He gives Hua Cheng's hand a little squeeze, wishing he could make the other feel better about being here. But the only way to do that is to find the key that will get them back home.

One of the oddest things about the hotel is the little box that is able to take them up and down the floors of the building. He pushes the button and they don't even have to wait as the doors open right up. He leads the other man inside of it.

[illegibly]

He goes inside and thinks it's a neat trick, but certainly not as useful as distance shortening arrays. And for climbing, there wasn't anything wrong with just... his legs.

"Dianxia, have you heard from our captors?" he asks.

[lucklessgege]

He looks up at the other once they are inside and shakes his head. "I don't think they really talk to us. At least, they haven't made themselves known to me. No one seems to know much about them."

He has been given snippets of information from the others captured here. The staff themselves are terribly unhelpful. But the ones that actually have the power to bring them here seem to be oddly unwilling to appear. It's interesting considering most people who want to control others make a habit of making themselves known.