TEST DRIVE MEME 005

[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. INFESTATION

It starts with soft squeaks echoing in the hallways, the lobby, even Oysters' rooms. There's no accompanying scratching or the scurrying of feet that would usually signify an animal in the walls, only incessant squeaking that never seems to let up. Less than a day after it begins, the first squeaking creature makes its appearance. It is quickly followed by another, and another, and another, until one can't take more than a few steps without encountering one.

They range in size from no longer than an inch to almost a foot in length, and can be found everywhere from the pool area to the buffet to crawling beneath the blankets at night. Aside from their constant presence, they seem harmless. The creatures are soft and squishy, warm and dry to the touch, and don't seem to have any claws or even teeth. If they are treated with kindness, they may even become attached to certain Oysters, who will begin to find they can tell the creature apart from the others.

They can also be killed quite easily. They are resilient, and will bounce if dropped, but they have no defense against anything sharp and the smaller ones will not recover if stepped on.

The hotel staff view the little green creatures with varying levels of distaste, from mild irritation to shrieking at the sight of one.

"It always happens this time of year," one staff may say if asked. "The weather changes, they come in from the garden."

"They're hiding," another may state. "Who wouldn't? It's much safer in here."

Safer from what, you may ask?

The hotel staff give no answer to that.

After only a few days, the small creatures will begin to change. Those who have been shown kindness will become softer, fluffier. Prolonged contact with them will invoke feelings of happiness, will bring daydreams that feel real, though no one else can see them.

Those who have not been treated kindly will become more resilient, with spikes sharp enough to prick skin at the slightest touch. Stumbling over one of these will cause terrible hallucinations, waking nightmares that can only be dispelled with assistance from another.

II. THE QUEEN'S GARDEN

The creatures have been in the hotel over a week when a new archway appears in the hotel lobby.

It is nearly October, hotel staff will say. There is a wedding to prepare for, and the yearly harvest festival. The Queen does so love her Oysters, of course, that she is opening up her gardens for both.

The garden itself is expansive, spanning multiple acres. There is a winding path lined with neatly manicured rose bushes in all colors, another overgrown with ivy, another leading through trees with leaves of reds and golds. Groves of fruit trees are heavy with apples and pears. Elaborate water fountains and delicate streams flow between small ponds, each bordered by different types of water plants and filled with everything ranging from goldfish to koi. There is a chill in the air, and scattered throughout the gardens are stone fire pits, a stash of blankets, bags of marshmallows and cartons of fresh pressed apple cider.

It is the only place aside from the pool that Oysters will be able to see the sun instead of the eternal twilight outside of the hotel windows.

Night will fall here, too, and with it all the fire pits are lit. Lanterns line the paths, and some glow from the thick of the gardens themselves, though there are still shadowy places that one can retreat to if desiring privacy.

III. HEDGE MAZE

The garden is bordered on all sides by a massive wall of shrubbery — a hedge maze, hotel staff will say. They may even warn that those who go in without an escort will find themselves hopelessly lost.

There is nothing stopping Oysters from trying anyway, of course. The entrance to the hedge maze is difficult to find, but not impossible for those who are persistent. No matter what time of day it is in the garden, it will be night in the hedge maze, with no lanterns to guide the way. The entrance back to the garden will glow warm and bright for only a few moments after stepping inside, and will then disappear entirely.

It seems there is no way to go but forward.

The deeper into the maze, the darker it gets, as though even the moon and stars are growing dim. Oysters may catch sounds of soft breathing in the night, and may even observe that the hedge wall itself seems to sway as though something just beyond it — or in it — is moving. Those who enter the maze will find themselves wandering for what feels like hours, days. Does that turn look familiar? Have you been down this way before? Who can tell, when nothing about the maze ever seems to change.

Eventually, Oysters will find that they have been lead back to the garden, exhausted and hungry, though no time at all has passed for everyone else.

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?

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

Nie Huaisang | The Untamed | OTA

[eternalgrief]

A. Infestation

The nonstop squeaking had been irritating very quickly but once the source of the squeaking is discovered Huaisang lightens up. He finds the creatures adorable and curious, wanting to learn more about them. There's so many and he gets caught up with petting any within reach.

"Ah, ah, ah! Be careful where you step!" he warns the next person he sees. There's so many it's truly dangerous for them and it could be for everyone else too.

B. The Queen's Garden

Huaisang wanders through the garden, meandering without any real intention. It smells nice and to see the sun is a luxury already. He looks at all the plants curiously, beautiful flowers, beautiful everything really. He's impressed and enthralled with this. Even as he keeps moving the chill becomes more insistent to him and as darkness starts to fall he admires the lanterns that light the way, although, they really could be better...

All the same, he comes upon one of the firepits and he stops there to rest a bit, taking some apple cider which he finds quite delicious, and a blanket before studying the marshmallows curiously.

"What are they?"

C. Wildcard

[ Open to whatever else! Feel free to assume first meetings have already happened if you wish or to go with a more arrival type idea if that's what you want. ]

B!

[scaredofdogs]

Wei Wuxian is just finishing a smore creation when he hears a familiar voice and his eyes widen just slightly. He looks up slowly and tries not to appear too caught off guard. Not being recognized means that this one would be from the other world and not the Huaisang that he knows. Which is of course complicated in the long run but at least for now he can try to keep himself from thinking about the fact that the last time he saw Huaisang was at the temple..

"Ah..they are called marshmallow! I learned about these myself recently. But you put them on top of the crackers and the chocolate to create a treat! Or you can eat them alone."

He holds out the newly made smore to the other man so that he could try it if he wanted.

[eternalgrief]

"Mo Xuanyu...?" The explanation sort of gets pushed to the wayside as he stares at the familiar face. He looks down at the s'more and he does accept it but he's still confused as to how or why the other's there. He knows there are plenty of oddities about this place but he has yet to run into anyone that shouldn't be alive anymore.

"How are you here..." he finally settles on that question after a few variations had passed through his mind in a matter of seconds.

[scaredofdogs]

"Ah..ha..Well this place is full of mysteries!" Well..he should have figured that he would recognize the face. Nie Huaisang had of course met this man when he was studying at Jin sect. This is where it becomes a little harder for Wei Wuxian to hold onto that persona...he has no idea how well Huaisang knew him since he doesn't have those memories.

"It can pull people from all over. You are here, aren't you? So why shouldn't I be here if you are here?"

Crazy..how long has it been since he's had to pretend he was crazy? Of course Mo Xuanyu had his reasons for behaving the way he did..He tries to busy himself with adding another marshmallow to the stick.

[eternalgrief]

Huaisang narrows his eyes at the other, taking a bite of the s'more. It's very sweet, almost too sweet. There's something oddly familiar about the other but not familiar in the way it should be.

"You should be dead and you're not acting yourself. Are you possessed?" Huaisang asks with no real beating around the bush or feigning like he doesn't know anything.

[scaredofdogs]

If Wei Wuxian had been eating at that moment he would have choked. That is a very loaded question...the short answer would be yes.

Why can't Huaisang go back to pretending to be the head shaker and the one who pretends to know nothing? With a sigh, Wei Wuxian decides that explaining is probably far easier then keeping up a charade.

He sets the marshmallow back down. "You could say that..except this body was given to me willingly."

[eternalgrief]

He will be the know nothing head-shaker soon enough but this is an oddity he doesn't put up pretenses for. Huaisang's head tilts at the answers and he takes another bite of the s'more, chewing over his thoughts as he does the treat.

Finally, he speaks again, "Wei Wuxian?"

B

[equivocations]

"Marshmallows. In my experiencd, they're eaten after being pierced on a stick and held over the fire."

The response to the question comes without conscious thought - he's pretty sure he'd meant to greet him first, at least, when he'd come over. He's going to blame it on having spent the last two weeks being sixteen, or perhaps that he never got out of the habit of wanting to answer any question that Huisang had for him.

Lan Xichen doesn't yet join him at the fire pit, though - mostly because he isn't sure he'd be welcome. He doesn't know what Huaisang remembers, and if he would want Lan Xichen there after everything that happened. But he can't bring himself to avoid him, especially not with Mingjue here.

"May I join you?"

[eternalgrief]

Huaisang lifts his head toward the familiar voice and face. It's a strange thing meeting him like this when his last memories were from the temple and very different circumstances between them. He smiles, though, as he typically does and he nods when the other asks to join him.

"Do you like them, Zewu Jun?" he asks, perhaps purposefully dancing away from the elephant in the room. He reaches for one of the sticks and with the marshmallow he had, he presses it onto the tip until it feels secure or at least as secure as something as soft as a marshmallow could feel.

[equivocations]

Well. That - is not an answer, as to how much Huaisang remembers, but it gives him a little bit of an idea. He gives a small smile in return, sitting next to him and watching him prepare the marshmallow.

"The consistency is strange, and they're very sweet. But they are enjoyable, as a novelty."

Is he going to do this? To pretend like there is not this chasm between them that he feels constantly on the verge of tipping into? To be gentle, and quiet, and not push for the things he needs to know? He had promised Mingjue that he would help protect Huaisang if he showed up here, even though he isn't sure how much Huaisang ever needed - or wanted - his support.

In the end, it's not the idea of letting what they both know remain unspoken between them that makes his decision. It's the possibility, however small, that Huaisang is from an earlier time, when he isn't yet aware of the events that may unfold. He could not keep things from him anymore than he could with Mingjue.

"There are others here from our world, and some from what seems like alternate timelines. I have met people who have not yet experienced all the events I remember, people who have variations in the way things occurred, people who I have known to be dead." His fingers curl briefly into the fabric of his overcoat.

"If you remember as I do, then there are only a few things I need tell you, but if you do not-"

[eternalgrief]

"Then I'm sure I'll like them."

Huaisang finishes piercing the marshmallow and he holds it over the fire, his eyes on the fire for a bit of time before he looks at Xichen. The longer he's there, the more it's hard to keep up pretenses and he'd always been good at pretenses. But he had nothing left he needed to accomplish and it felt terrible hide himself with Xichen of all people. He exhales as he contemplates it, watching as the marshmallow starts to brown.

What a strange thing, not the people who could be there that should be dead --that's not new but that they aren't all from the same time? That is different.

The last thing that Xichen confirms that he needs to drop the mask and his smile fades, looking directly at him. "Is he dead?" It seems the easiest question to know if they are from the same time or not.

[equivocations]

His eyes close, briefly, as he pulls in a breath and lets it out slowly - which is probably enough of an answer on its own, but he responds anyway.

"Yes."

Oddly enough, it settles something in him. He has been here long enough that reminders of that night no longer immediately send him back to experiencing it, and at least - at least he will not have to compose himself to tell the story for a third time. There are so many things he wants to ask him - how did he find out, how long had he known - but he thinks he understands why Huaisang did not tell him, and there are more important things than Lan Xichen's further attempts to pick apart everything he thought he knew about his life.

"Huaisang, I -" He cuts off, because there is no way to soften this, to broach the subject gently. "Mingjue is here, or a version of him. He looks a little different, and the events of his life do not quite match up - but it is still him."

[eternalgrief]

Huaisang doesn't look away from the other and he feels like there's something he should say but the words don't come. He simply nods in acknowledgement and when he looks back at the marshmallow it'd just caught fire and he quietly goes "ah," and pulls it back, blowing on it. When Xichen wants to question him he'll do his best to give him answers but now doesn't seem the time for them to talk about everything that had happened.

He looks over again when he hears his name and he braces himself -- for what? He's not sure. What he finds the other saying is not what he had expected at all. It feels like a physical blow.

"Da ge is here? How..." But he then remembers what the other had said earlier but it's still, something he's not sure how to reconcile and then a feeling of hope. "He's really here?"

A

[sadflutenoises]

It was impossible not to notice the pattern of new arrivals, and really, he needed to start expecting that there may be a handful of people he knows, or perhaps worse, that know of him, and perhaps be a little more careful in concealing his identity. He's had the rare good luck though, in that those who'd arrived were also allies, either his or Hanguang Jun's, though it'd been a near thing with Nie Mingjue.

Even so, any trepidation about guests is quickly forgotten when he sees the other new arrivals. He's nearly stepped on half a dozen of them before reaching the lobby, and the sudden shout to watch his step has him nearly tripping over his own feet. It's only owing to his reflexes that he's able to steady himself on a nearby potted plant, and he sees that, ah-

Another familiar face. Of course it is. Lan Wangji had filled in the bits of story that Wei Wuxian hadn't experienced himself, before being dragged here, but there'd been little to no mention of Nie Huaisang. No warnings, nothing. So, Wei Wuxian's face does what it does most naturally, and breaks into a smile, and he hopes the younger Nie brother will give him more of a chance to explain himself than his older brother had.

"Ah... Nie-xiong, been a while, huh?" perhaps a little too casual for greeting a what- sect leader now? But no one could ever accuse Wei Wuxian of being a stickler for rules and propriety.

[eternalgrief]

Huaisang has had an encounter with the other Wei Wuxian and it had been tense, there had been no easy genuine smile. As always, Wei Wuxian's smile is contagious and so Huaisang finds himself smiling back. He doesn't often smile as easily as he did when he was younger but this is the Wei Wuxian he knew and he could be happy about that.

"I heard that you were here," he says getting up and carefully making his way over to him and he manages to move more gracefully.

"Are you well, Wei-xiong?"

[sadflutenoises]

In his case, ignorance certainly is bliss, as he'd only been revived a short time before being brought here, and neither Lan Wangji or his other self had been terribly forthcoming with the details of what was to happen later in their journey. For all this Wei Wuxian knew, he was meeting an old friend, one who's actually pleased to see him and not trying to murder, maim, or imprison him, so he'll count it as a win.

"I'm well, very well, all things considered," he laughs, "who'd you meet?"

[eternalgrief]

"The...other you? And Zewu Jun," Huaisang answers, his expression darkening for a moment and he wonders what this Wei Wuxian knows...If he's as suspicious of Huaisang as the other was. It doesn't seem so but sometimes, there's more going on with Wei Wuxian than what meets the eye, Huaisang knows better than to make assumptions he can't prove.

[sadflutenoises]

"Aah," he nods his understanding.

He has to wonder how well those meetings went, since Nie Huaisang's expression isn't so bright and exuberant as it'd been just moments before. It was hard to talk to himself, honestly, half the times he relished having someone who understood so thoroughly the way he thought, and whom he could throw ideas off of. On the other, it was easy to be irritated by his own idiosyncracies.

Zewu Jun though, he was fairly sure it would be hard to rile him up, no matter the topic. Then again, Nie Huaisang couldn't be terribly pleased about being brought here in the first place. Most conversations with newcomers were difficult, to say the least.

"It's strange, right? And there's two of Lan Zhan here, did they tell you?" he says, picking his way through the creatures, trying not to step on anyone.

"Circumstances might not be the best, but you can ask me pretty much anything," he offers, fairly proud of what he's managed so far and glad for any chance to cheer up a friend, especially one he hasn't seen in so long.

[eternalgrief]

They both had been very emotionally arduous conversations in very different ways.

"Yes... others were also mentioned... that is only part of the strangeness isn't it?" Huaisang smiles, the typical mask slipping back in place. It's not as thorough a mask as it once was, after all, he had agreed to no pretenses here, so he's working on that. He still is processing the feeling of knowing Meng Yao is alive here and not only that so is some version of his brother.

"You're doing well here?" Huaisang asks in response to the offer, a deflection from what he really wants to ask What do you know.

A

[lucklessgege]

Xie Lian has tried to avoid stepping on these little creatures all day but it seems to be getting harder and harder. He has never seen anything multiply as quickly as whatever these green animals seem to be. At least they are cute so he has a hard time just being annoyed by them but he also has his concerns. If this place has taught him nothing in his brief time at the hotel, it is that one most be leery of what might happen next.

As he turns a corner, he hears the warning and pauses in his steps just before placing his foot down on top of one of the creatures. He kneals down and picks it up with a relieved sigh.

"You've happened to encounter a rare slice of good luck in my presence thanks to this kind man. You shouldn't squander it."

He sets the creature back down out of the main aisle before turning to the other with a smile, "Thank you for the warning."

[eternalgrief]

Huaisang smiles at the stranger and the fact that he'd managed to keep the little creature from getting stepped on. He straightens a little, taking in the other's appearance and studying him, though, not particularly obviously.

"You're welcome. You'd be surprised how many people aren't being careful at all! Ah..not that that's you... just..." he shrugs and laughs. He's had to call out a few times to keep the little animals from meeting doom.

[lucklessgege]

"They are becoming harder to avoid it seems. There is far more of them now then there was earlier in the day. I wonder why they are trying to take cover in here."

He has considered that question all day and the staff just keeps giving him an unconvincing answer. He has never been around so many people that are so unwilling to talk. Of course there is no way to open their mouths with money in this place either.

"If this continues it will be quite impossible to avoid hurting them."

[eternalgrief]

"I tried to ask and I don't think I have found any satisfactory answers," Huaisang says, and that concerns him and not necessarily only because the numerous creatures but also if the danger they hide from is a danger to them all.

"It's worrisome."

[lucklessgege]

"Perhaps they are simply trying to come in as the weather gets cooler." But if that is the case then why wouldn't the hotel staff just tell them that?

Realizing himself, Xie Lian turns to the other and greets him with a bow. "Forgive me for not introducing myself sooner. I am Xie Lian."

[eternalgrief]

"That doesn't seem like something that they would cover up, does it?" Huaisang counters and he supposes that maybe it will be a while before they figure it out, if they ever do. The hotel is full of the mysterious.

Huaisang returns the bow. "Nie Huaisang," he introduces himself simply in return.