𝐻𝒜𝒫𝒫𝒴 𝐻𝐸𝒜𝑅𝒯𝒮 𝒮𝒯𝒜𝐹𝐹 (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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funnyhearts2020-10-24 10:36 pm
happyheartsstaff) wrote in funnyhearts2020-10-24 10:36 pm
TEST DRIVE MEME 006
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!
THEY FOLLOW
10/23 - 10/30
Was there a garden when you first arrived? You're sure you saw one, bright and welcoming through an archway in the hotel lobby that is no longer there.
"Why would it be there?" hotel staff will ask if questioned about it. "The festival is over."
But it seems not everything in the garden wanted to stay there.
Scarecrows will begin to appear inside the hotel itself. These are not just any scarecrows — Oysters may notice that some of the scarecrows seem somehow familiar. Is that one wearing the same clothes as a family member? Does another have the eyes of a former lover, the facial features of a long dead enemy? None will be exact replicas, they are after all only made of straw, but the resemblance will be undeniable. Particularly when Oysters begin to hear indecipherable whispers that are also all too familiar.
At first it is in public areas, always just out of reach, voices faint and distant. They being to grow closer as the month winds down, voices growing louder, until eventually Oysters may find them in their bedrooms, hiding in their closets or showers. Their voices are curses, death threats and words of warning filling the air despite that their lips never move.
It becomes apparent that there is something moving outside the hotel windows, where before there had only been twilight looming over the lake and forest, and the skyscrapers in the distance. Whatever it is that lurks outside is too quick to be seen out of anything but the corner of one's eye, a creature made of shadows. Before long, it will no longer be movement outside that may catch Oysters' eyes, but something in the corners of their room. The breathing heard once in the hedge maze will now follow Oysters, sometimes right behind them, sometimes just out of arms' reach. Always, there is the ever present looming feeling of eyes staring at you from behind.
Oysters may notice that they don't seem to be the only ones effected. Hotel staff are more tense than ever, paranoid and afraid, constantly looking over their shoulder.
"You let it out!" a hotel staff may shout, unprompted.
None will answer questions if pressed further.
"Why should we? We told you not to. You never listen to us."
"Why would it be there?" hotel staff will ask if questioned about it. "The festival is over."
But it seems not everything in the garden wanted to stay there.
Scarecrows will begin to appear inside the hotel itself. These are not just any scarecrows — Oysters may notice that some of the scarecrows seem somehow familiar. Is that one wearing the same clothes as a family member? Does another have the eyes of a former lover, the facial features of a long dead enemy? None will be exact replicas, they are after all only made of straw, but the resemblance will be undeniable. Particularly when Oysters begin to hear indecipherable whispers that are also all too familiar.
At first it is in public areas, always just out of reach, voices faint and distant. They being to grow closer as the month winds down, voices growing louder, until eventually Oysters may find them in their bedrooms, hiding in their closets or showers. Their voices are curses, death threats and words of warning filling the air despite that their lips never move.
It becomes apparent that there is something moving outside the hotel windows, where before there had only been twilight looming over the lake and forest, and the skyscrapers in the distance. Whatever it is that lurks outside is too quick to be seen out of anything but the corner of one's eye, a creature made of shadows. Before long, it will no longer be movement outside that may catch Oysters' eyes, but something in the corners of their room. The breathing heard once in the hedge maze will now follow Oysters, sometimes right behind them, sometimes just out of arms' reach. Always, there is the ever present looming feeling of eyes staring at you from behind.
Oysters may notice that they don't seem to be the only ones effected. Hotel staff are more tense than ever, paranoid and afraid, constantly looking over their shoulder.
"You let it out!" a hotel staff may shout, unprompted.
None will answer questions if pressed further.
"Why should we? We told you not to. You never listen to us."
HAPPY HALLOWEEN
10/31
On the morning of Halloween, the movement of the shadows stops. The scarecrows are no where to be found, their disembodied voices silent. The oppressive feeling of surveillance seems to have lifted, and even the hotel staff seem to be in better moods.
A ballroom has opened up off of the hotel lobby, decorated for the Halloween party that is announced to be later that day. There are stations set up for karaoke, pumpkin carvings, bobbing for apples, piñatas, and a stage being laid for dancing and a costume contest at the end of the night.
Many of the hotel staff are already in costumes, and will encourage Oysters to select one from This Elegant Thimble for themselves.
The first part of the party goes off without a hitch, but as it gets later, the lights begin to flicker. Or maybe it's the shadows themselves that begin to shift and waver, coiling in on themselves and coming alive. Screams come from the hotel staff at the party before the shadows have finished solidifying, and they retreat to barricade themselves in a staff only area as some of the shadows break off to chase them.
The majority turn their focus on the Oysters. The shadows move as one at first but quickly begin to take on an individuality. All have wickedly curved claws and a mouth of sharp teeth, but their fighting styles slowly start to diversify as they take more solid form. Their features become more unique, and they develop voices — the same voices once connected with the scarecrows. Oysters will quickly find themselves facing off against shades of the people they know, and these shades are not afraid to play dirty and pretend to be the people they look like.
A ballroom has opened up off of the hotel lobby, decorated for the Halloween party that is announced to be later that day. There are stations set up for karaoke, pumpkin carvings, bobbing for apples, piñatas, and a stage being laid for dancing and a costume contest at the end of the night.
Many of the hotel staff are already in costumes, and will encourage Oysters to select one from This Elegant Thimble for themselves.
The first part of the party goes off without a hitch, but as it gets later, the lights begin to flicker. Or maybe it's the shadows themselves that begin to shift and waver, coiling in on themselves and coming alive. Screams come from the hotel staff at the party before the shadows have finished solidifying, and they retreat to barricade themselves in a staff only area as some of the shadows break off to chase them.
The majority turn their focus on the Oysters. The shadows move as one at first but quickly begin to take on an individuality. All have wickedly curved claws and a mouth of sharp teeth, but their fighting styles slowly start to diversify as they take more solid form. Their features become more unique, and they develop voices — the same voices once connected with the scarecrows. Oysters will quickly find themselves facing off against shades of the people they know, and these shades are not afraid to play dirty and pretend to be the people they look like.
FIRST SNOWFALL
11/01 - 11/08
The morning after the Halloween party, all evidence of it has gone. The ballroom is no longer there, and any damage done to the hotel by the shades or the Oysters themselves while fighting them off is completely repaired, as though it had never existed.
"Our housekeeping staff have simply outdone themselves, haven't they?" hotel staff will say if asked. "Always cleaning up after the messes of others."
Very few will even acknowledge shadow monster at all.
Those that do will simply look at the Oyster who's asking. "What did you expect to happen when you were warned to stay out of somewhere?"
All hotel staff will quickly change the subject and encourage Oysterd to check out the new upgrades to the pool area. It changes with the seasons, of course!
Those who do go to look will find that the once beach like environment of the pool is completely changed. The sand dunes are now snow hills, the water slides are frozen over, and the coves and hideaways are now dripping with icicles. The pool itself is solid ice, and ice skates are available for those who want to take a spin. Similarly, skis, snowboards, and sleds can used on the snow hills and ice slides. Over all of it, tiny snowflakes fall from the artificial sky.
The only source of warmth to be found here now are the several hot tubs scattered throughout the pool area.
If the rest of the hotel seems a little chillier as well, surely not. It must be your imaginations, mustn't it?
"Our housekeeping staff have simply outdone themselves, haven't they?" hotel staff will say if asked. "Always cleaning up after the messes of others."
Very few will even acknowledge shadow monster at all.
Those that do will simply look at the Oyster who's asking. "What did you expect to happen when you were warned to stay out of somewhere?"
All hotel staff will quickly change the subject and encourage Oysterd to check out the new upgrades to the pool area. It changes with the seasons, of course!
Those who do go to look will find that the once beach like environment of the pool is completely changed. The sand dunes are now snow hills, the water slides are frozen over, and the coves and hideaways are now dripping with icicles. The pool itself is solid ice, and ice skates are available for those who want to take a spin. Similarly, skis, snowboards, and sleds can used on the snow hills and ice slides. Over all of it, tiny snowflakes fall from the artificial sky.
The only source of warmth to be found here now are the several hot tubs scattered throughout the pool area.
If the rest of the hotel seems a little chillier as well, surely not. It must be your imaginations, mustn't it?
If you have any questions, please leave them over here! Like the scarecrows, the shades can be destroyed with fire. The monster will retreat from the hotel back into the hedge maze once many of its shades have been destroyed.
© tessisamess
no subject
And then she sticks her right hand out, green Oyster-mark easily visible on the back of her wrist. The other is loose at her side, sleeve over-long, and the fingertips porcelain-white where they peek out.
"Commander Shepard, Alliance Navy. You?"
no subject
He is not used to shaking hands, considering he came from a country where it's more polite to bow. For now, he is amused, playing along so he gives her a handshake.
"Hua Cheng. So they told me this is a hotel. What is like for you here?"
no subject
She has a firm, professional handshake, honed over many years of dealing with people who think direct eye contact and a strong grip are all that it takes to know a person's character. Military life is a codified system, in more ways than can be written down.
"You can't leave, the light doesn't change, and every now and then they herd everybody together and make you suffer. So don't get too comfortable," She waves him along, follow me, and swipes a deck of cards from under the dealer's hands in passing. The casino is the least comfortable place imaginable for a card game, but it's even moreso for someone who tends to get a little twitchy with all those bright lights flashing in her peripheral vision, "C'mon, this'll be better with drinks. What's your poison?"
no subject
At the offer of a drink, "Red wine would do if they have it." They should have it with all kinds of drinks imaginable to serve to oysters.
no subject
It's a joke, you see. All the drinks, like the food, are free for the taking. Don't ask Shepard how much she's got stashed away in her room, or elsewhere.
"I'm more of a whisky sour kind of girl," she tells him, speaking at least half to the barkeep, and the woman turns away to retrieve the merchandise in question, "So, Hua Cheng, I gotta ask... do anything notable, recently?"
It's a little too casual, a clear signal of its importance, but Shepard doesn't seem to be bothered with meeting his eyes. She's unwrapping the deck with her teeth, one-handed, and spreading it out on the bartop, then producing a second deck from a pocket and carefully portioning out a selection of cards.
"It's relevant, I promise."
no subject
"Whisky is hard and it burns, but you must have like it that way." When the barkeeper provides the drinks, a glass of red wine for him.
"Notable?" he smiles, a friendly one. Not many mortals ask him. "Nothing worthy or notable. But I'm a close friend and companion to his Highness, Xie Lan."
no subject
Red wine is the classy choice, of course. Or pretentious. Or, quite possibly, the sign of a true and dyed-in-the-wool asshole. Only time shall tell; but Shepard doesn't comment on it. She's got her own drink to bother about.
"Xie Lan..." She doesn't think she's had direct contact with an Oyster by that name, but she remembers hearing it, vaguely. A flash of dark hair in memory— but that doesn't mean anything. More than half the Oysters are black-haired, now, "Never heard of 'em. He's here?"
no subject
With a nod, in a cheerful upbeat. "He's here. I have found him. We come from the same world."
it's basically poker lol
Shepard shuffles her selections together then, one-handed as she's been, finger over finger, turn and turn about. The backs of the cards are all the same, but there are seven suites now, including the cards stolen from the alternate deck, and those three extra are of a different design. IT's a weird place, but who can question it when one deck has hearts, spades, clubs, and diamonds, while the next might feature rabbits, pigs, and other strange suites.
"Rules are simple. You're looking for a hand of six that contains a winning set. You'll want three sets of two-pair, two of three-of-a-kind, or all of one kind. Best score goes to the higher value, with aces as the highest. Points to whoever gets the longest run in a sequence, that's best of the lot. You can hold a maximum of seven cards. There's more, but we'll start from there. One last thing," Shepard deals the cards out, then shuffles the deck again, split and recombine, split again, "Around here there's not a lot to bet with. Money's nothing, chips don't matter, keeping secrets is your own business."
Though only an absolute fool would keep the valuable ones. But pressure on that sort of person only makes them more stubborn, so she doesn't press.
"...But the tea. That's got value. You'll get some sent down to you, from time to time. It's fine enough to drink, but it's better to hoard it. For whatever reason, that's the only thing around here anyone really cares about. Got all that?"
no subject
"Mm. I got it. And it does seem like it, that tea of emotions is the currency around here." Not that human emotions is high on his list, considering where he's from, in Ghost City, human emotions can be traded off and be betted as a currency as well as years and lives, so money and things like chips and currency don't worth anything at all to him.
Still, he smiles politely. "I got it." He fans the cards out and sets his drink of wine aside. "Are we ready?" There's nothing to bet or make a deal for now, so this one is just a friendly game.