funnyhearts | TEST DRIVE MEME 004

TEST DRIVE MEME 004

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. TIME TO PARTY

What timing you have, to be arriving at Happy Hearts now! The hotel is bustling, filled to the brim with guests that don't bear the green mark denoting them as Oysters. Hotel staff are equally as busy, catering to the needs of their extra company on top of the Oysters. Musicians arrive in a flurry of fanfare, demanding the attention of everyone in their wake. If the hotel staff are a little more hurried, a little less friendly and accommodating to new Oysters, surely they can be excused, right?

No matter. There's a party to go tonight, the very one that the musicians are here to play at. They set up in the massive pool area, roping off some areas for dancing, others for tables lined with all manner of food and drink. Indulgence teas make an appearance throughout the night. Anyone who drinks one will find themselves with lowered impulse control, lack of restraint, a desire to partake of things they would normally be wary of, giving into their particular vices much more frequently, etc.

If you intended to miss the party, you may find it difficult to ignore. The celebrations spill out of the pool area and into the hotel lobby, the restaurants, the bars, even up onto the floors of the Oysters' rooms. The music is loud enough to be heard anywhere in the hotel, making sleep a difficulty. You might as well enjoy yourself, right? Or perhaps find someone else attempting to avoid the celebration to commiserate with. It will stop some time in the late hours, at least, and all signs of it will be gone the next day.

II. ATTRIBUTABLE TO HUMAN ERROR

Even after the hotel is no longer quite so full, hotel staff always seem in the middle of doing something or other when they're asked for something. There's just not enough time in the day, is there, for everything that must be done? Any Oysters who point out that there seems to be several other staff members mingling about with nothing to do will be met with silence.

But not to worry! All your needs will still be met. The hotel does have its automated customer service system, for times such as these! Computer screens are available at the counter of every store, at every table in the restaurants, at the bar and spa and gym. Calling for room service? Needing more towels at the pool? Want to book a service at the spa or get a drink at the bar? Simply place your request directly with the system, and whatever you desire will be delivered right to you!

There are still some bugs to be worked out, of course. Were those not the clothes you wanted? Oh, dear, perhaps someone else got yours by mistake. You can't even eat whatever type of food was served to you? Better double check the system — and look, what you have in front of you is exactly the order that was placed? Are you sure you're not the one who was mistaken?

A hotel staff member will eventually correct whatever went wrong, should Oysters not being able to sort out the mix up themselves.

III. WERE YOU LOOKING FOR SOMETHING?

Just when it felt like you were getting the layout of the hotel down — you were getting the layout of the hotel down, weren't you? If you thought so before, you may doubt it now. There was a night club here just last night, wasn't there? And a spa over there, a gym just beyond them? If there ever was, there's certainly no sign of them now. There's only a blank wall, a dead end.

Turning to go back the way you came will be of little help. There is no way you came, just another hallway. And another, and another, until you may find yourself quite hopelessly turned around. If you're lucky, it may not be too long before you run into a helpful member of the hotel staff.

They'll be happy to direct you anywhere you need, of course. "The spa?" they'll say. "Do we have a spa? That's news to me. Oh but we're always adding new amenities, of course, that's one of the joys of the Happy Hearts Hotel and Casino!"

Perhaps you'd like directions back to the lobby? Well, they can certainly provide that. You're not alone, are you? A shame. They're much too busy to escort you back themselves. It's a bit of a maze, during renovations, one always easier to navigate with a friend to keep an eye on things.

It won't take long to realize they mean that literally. The hallways don't move as long as someone's watching them, and it will be much easier to follow the staff's directions back to the hotel lobby with one person to look in front and one behind. Hopefully you'll find someone else just as lost as you are.

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?

All hotel amenities on the world info page are available except for the nightclub, the gym, and the hotel spa. 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

"They do. There are little boxes in there you can keep things cold as well." The modern additions to their rooms is impressive, particularly since the hotel has made sure to hide them within the decor that is so familiar from their worlds. But for him in particular, the running water is necessary since Lil' Apple needs to always have it available.

"What does your room look like? I imagine they made it appear like your room at Cloud Recesses."

He had seen the little box but hadn't opened it just yet. He nods at the question.

"It's a little more grand than my room back at Cloud Recesses. Quite more like the Jingshi or even Zewu Jun's Hanshi. It's quite opulent."

Red graces his cheeks. His room was certainly far more grand than his room back home.

"Ahh how interesting! Most of the rooms are catered to us in some way. Places we've been or places we want to be..Mine is the room I grew up in."

With a few grander additions now that he has a housemate in a donkey.

"It's not exact but it is pretty close." He walks up to the elevator and pushes the button. "Just another way the hotel can be creepy in what it knows about us."

Sizhui steels his nerves when the elevator dings. He had been caught in one earlier and the other guests and oysters had moved back and forth between so many floors that Sizhui felt a small wave of nausea.

"I'm curious to see what the room looks like then. I hadn't had the opportunity to enter Lotus Pier."

Luckily they are the only ones on it this time and they don't have to go very far for his room. He steps inside and presses the number for his floor.

"Well now you will get to see at least a little of it! I didn't get to see much of the rebuilt Lotus Pier..but I'm sure the room I used to be in is no longer there."

He can't imagine that Jiang Cheng would remake his room after everything that had happened...

Sizhui breathes a quiet sigh of relief when he realizes it's the two of them that are going to be the only two in the car. His demeanor saddens a little when he mentions about Lotus Pier being rebuilt. He read about it in the history books and in the cenotaphs for the fallen Lan during the terrible time of the Wen Clan's expansion.

"What was it like, Wei-qianbei? When you were growing up in Lotus Pier?"

"Ahh..We had a lot of fun. It was difficult of course..the lady of the house was pretty strict. But we would fly kites, practice archery, swim in the lake to cool down, eat lotus seeds.." He chokes up a little as he remembers and quickly waves it off with a clearing of his throat.

"But that was a long time ago." The doors open and he steps off the elevator, making the short trek to his room. He uses the little card to open his door and then holds it for him to enter in after him.

He watches Wei-qianbei as he recalls his childhood there. His heart goes out to him when he hears the choke in his voice. He places a hand on his arm but then he's clearing his through and he lets go. The doors open and he falls into step with Wei-qianbei toward his room.

When he opens the door, Sizhui steps in, eyes widening at the room before him. There's a soft, fond smile to his lips as he wonders if this would be similar to the room that his own Wei-qianbei had grown up in.

He closes the door behind them and just as he is about to speak a familiar bray comes from a far corner of the room. Lil' Apple drops his head over the half door that separates Lotus Pier from the little shed and pasture area the hotel added for him. Large ears perk up as the donkey sees the guest.

Reaching into his robes, Wei Wuxian produces an apple that he brings over to the donkey, "I didn't forget about you! I just got side tracked."

Sizhui's entire demeanor brightens when he sees and hears the familiar figure. Immediately, he makes his way over to the donkey as well.

"Lil' Apple is here too?" He stops, hand already outstretched to give the donkey pets. "Ah. He's...the one from your world. He would not recognize me."

He looks at Wei-qianbei.

"Does this mean that Lil' Apple came with Wei-qianbei as well? And Hanguang Jun's rabbits?"

He hands Shizui the apple. "He'll still recognize you. You look similar enough to the one he knows." The donkey's nose can't quite reach the apple or the hand that wants to give him pets and seems to be growing increasingly annoyed by the distance.

"I'm not sure. Lil' Apple has only been here for a couple weeks. I woke up one day and he was here as well and my room was bigger to accommodate it. I haven't really heard about too many animals around but if they gave me a donkey..certainly rabbits are also a possibility."

Sizhui recognizes the same faces being made before a braying fit and laughs softly as he grasps the apple and moves closer, feeding it to the donkey and petting it. He looks over at Wei-qianbei.

"What's the other Sizhui like? You and Wei-qianbei...don't look too much alike. I recognized the hair ribbon; it's styled in a similar way."

Edited 2020-08-29 06:04 (UTC)

"Hmph.." He reaches up and gives a toss to that long ponytail, "I clearly have a better choice of hairstyle." But he is smiling as he walks over to his bed and sits down on it. The long ponytail is almost ridiculous in length and thickness but that's one reason why he chooses to put it up in such a way. It's far too much hair to leave down like his soul twin. He did that once..when he was the Yiling Patriarch and he'd rather not repeat those days for a number of reasons. Lil' Apple is now perfectly content with the attention he is getting.

"So far..everyone else seems to be pretty close. Slight differences. Nothing like being in a completely different body like I am." In a way it is nice because he never has to worry about being mistaken for his soul twin, but it also makes trying to explain why he has the same name but a different face more difficult.

"Oh?"

He continues to pet Lil Apple until he's done with his apple. Sizhui wipes his hands on his robes for the time being and makes a mental note to find out where he could wash his clothes. He turns to regard Wei-Qianbei in this better light. His head tilts one way as he takes note of the high ponytail.

"Is this what Mo Xuanyu looked like in your world? You looked different than this?"

"I looked like your Wei Wuxian when I was young. I don't know why the spell that brought us back behaved differently but for me, my soul took over Mo Xuanyu's body. That is why I am shorter and have a different face then the one you are familiar with. It is possible that my body couldn't be brought back because it was completely destroyed by the resentful energy."

He can't really be sure but he is aware of the fact that he died in a drastically different way then his soul twin did. And there are several other fairly major differences that occurred to get them to that point. He has slowly been getting used to the fact that he didn't get to have his old body back after seeing that other versions of himself did get to but perhaps it is for the best that he didn't. At least this way he did get to have a golden core again...even if it is tiny.

"It's a distinct look for you, Wei-qianbei," Sizhui offers sweetly. "I'm sure it helps to look differently than my Wei-qianbei. Easier for people to distinguish the two of you. Hanguang Jun looks different as well. His eyes are quite unnatural colored."

He recalls being surprised by him when he first met him. But the fondness and respect still was present. Hanguang Jun was still Hanguang Jun. This Wei-qianbei had proven that he is still Wei-qianbei. Quite possibly, still the same man that looked after him as a toddler.

"It helps and also makes things harder. Especially when people from your world show up." It's always a hard conversation to have trying to explain to people who he is.

"Lan Zhan is definitely harder to distinguish between. When yours first showed up I didn't realize he wasn't the one I know. And he was very confused why I acted like I did with the face that I have. But that was our first experience with doubles so it was pretty shocking."

But Wei Wuxian holds the same belief that Shizui does. They are the same soul with the same heart and it doesn't what minor differences there are. This Wei Wuxian cares for them both.

He nods, tucking his hands into his sleeves.

"It was surprising seeing the two Hanguang Jun when I first arrived here. Not at the same time. I saw mine first then had met the other after."

Sizhui smiles fondly at the memory of it then turns the smile to Wei-qianbei.

"As he is very much Hanguang Jun, you are still very much Wei-qianbei to me. Just as loved."

Which reminds him.

"Hanguang Jun had told me that there will be a wedding. A double wedding. My congratulations to you, Wei-qianbei."

Wei Wuxian barely has time to process the 'loved' comment within that sentence before it gets followed by talk of the wedding. Lan Wangji certainly doesn't waste any time when it comes to informing people about that.

He flushes slightly as he smiles, "You showed up in time to enjoy it. So that makes the day even better." As if it wasn't already a grand celebration. And with still over a month until that time there is no telling how many more might be there to share it.

He's loved and Sizhui will affirm it, no matter how much either Wei-qianbei protests. They still cared for Sizhui even if one is from another world. They're still the same heart, same soul. He straightens and happily nods at that.

"I'm very happy to enjoy it with all of you. Are you happy about the union? Both of them?"

Sizhui sits down next to him.

"Of course! I love Lan Zhan so I'm glad we can have the day to make it official and nothing is better then being able to share that with everyone." He won't go into the complication of loving both of them because that is just too much to put on the son. But just saying he loves him to another person is slightly embarrassing even if the one he is saying it to is Sizhui.

"Both Lan Zhans deserve all the happiness to come their way." So of course the union of both fills him with joy. That man has gone through so much and a lot of his sadness and pain has been his fault. But despite that he still wants to marry Wei Wuxian and so he intends to make up for all of it.

He pats his hand on Wei-qianbei's shoulder.

"And both Wei-qianbei deserve all the happiness to come their way as well," he reassures with a bright smile. "I can speak confidently on Sizhui's behalf that he would agree with me."

Sizhui knows of the bits and pieces that Wen Ning had told him about with the stories that they had shared that night on Lotus Pier, and the few stories they had exchanged after the battle at the temple. Wei-qianbei and Hanguang Jun deserve every happiness after what they had been through.

He smiles and reaches out to lay his hand on Shizui's head. "Thank you. I'm not sure I deserve the happiness but I'll certainly accept all of it."

He wants to spend his lifetime with Lan Wangji and make up for all the bad things that have happened and all the things that have tried to keep them apart.

"If you have any suggestions on the wedding, we will be happy to hear them."

He shakes his head.

"The only suggestions would be the suggestions from Gusu. Our traditions are rather simple and I'm sure Hanguang Jun has already informed you of such traditions."

Sizhui thinks on it. There had been a few unions at Gusu but the affairs were always quiet, subdued. Nothing quite so opulent. And he had not seen a wedding between two men before.

"Ahh yeahh..your Lan Zhan told me about Gusu weddings and we decided it would be better to be a little less strict." He had said they don't have alcohol and that is just rather unfortunate.

"I think it's going to be a very nice blend of lots of sects and worlds styles." Because something like that is very fitting for a hotel that is a mix of all kinds of places.

HAPPY HEARTS HOTEL

I. TIME TO PARTY

II. ATTRIBUTABLE TO HUMAN ERROR

III. WERE YOU LOOKING FOR SOMETHING?

IV. WELCOME HOME

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