TEST DRIVE MEME 001 (#2)

[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 for our grand opening gala. 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. THE CASINO FLOOR

As you pass through the entrance to the casino floor, an attendant passes you a small bag of chips. The casino is loud and bright and filled with games of every kind — you want to play poker? They've got a table for that. Sabacc? There's a table for that, too. Slots, pachinko, and bingo are just a few of the other games on offer. The attendant in the lobby wasn't lying, either — everyone who plays wins. Everyone, every time.

Servers wander the floor with trays of shotglasses full of multi-coloured liquids, offering them to every Oyster "Compliments of Her Royal Highness." If you're expecting alcohol, though, you'll be surprised — these drinks are teas made of the distilled emotions of every Oyster in the hotel. Each colour of tea corresponds to a different emotion, and as soon as you take a sip, you feel overcome with that emotion.

JOY — the distilled essence of happiness, this tea makes even the most rough and tumble of Oysters giddy with happiness — for a moment. The effect fades into a general sense of contentment and affability after a few seconds, and that itself fades away slowly over the course of twenty minutes.

ANGER — this tea, anger in liquid form, can make the most even-tempered of Oysters ready to absolutely blow a gasket. For twenty minutes, anyone who drinks this tea will find themselves much more easily annoyed, frustrated, and all around irritable and snappy.

SADNESS — distilled sadness is a potent tea, capable of turning a stoic, stalwart Oyster into a blubbering mess in moments. Events that may have previously only been a minor disappointment become the end of the world, every repressed unhappiness comes to the fore, and for twenty minutes, any Oyster who drinks a sadness tea can hardly keep themselves together.

II. MAKING WAVES

If gambling isn't to your interest, there are many other areas of the hotel to explore! For the moment, only The Pool Of Tears and the Pig & Pepper Buffet are available for Oysters to peruse, but the staff assure anyone who asks that the other facilities will be open by the next day. Unfortunately, that means no one can buy any swimsuits from This Elegant Thimble, but the staff aren't going to kick anyone out of the pool for jumping in in their clothes!

There are four main attractions to The Pool of Tears: the pool, the jacuzzi, the wave pool, and the lazy river. The water is always just the right temperature, clean and clear and refreshing. It feels as if the sun shines down from above you, warm and comforting. Scattered through the pool area are clusters of modern lounge chairs, just waiting for someone to come relax in them. The Pool is, in a word, serene.

But not for long. The waves generated by the wave pool begin to get choppier, and larger, until it becomes clear that the generator itself is malfunctioning — too late, however, to avoid the tsunami that crashes through the whole Pool and leaves it flooded. Thankfully, no water escapes into the rest of the hotel, and the hotel staff work quickly to rescue those trapped in the Pool and drain the flooding — but you better hope you can tread water until they get to you!

III. EAT ME, DRINK ME

The Pig & Pepper buffet serves lunch foods from across all different cultures, offering something for everyone, and some things you've never even heard of.

On offer with these lunchtime dishes are cookies and biscuits and scones of all kinds, held on tiered trays with signs that proclaim Eat Me! in delightfully whimsical calligraphy. Nearby, hotel staff man a small booth for doling out cups of fruit waters from large pitchers, which have Drink Me! painted playfully on their sides.

It takes a while to feel the effects — perhaps you've even left the Pig & Pepper by the time it happens — but those who eat the cookies and scones inevitably end up growing in size, whether a few inches or feet, and those who drank the fruity water similarly shrink. Eat enough and you might strain the ceiling; drink enough and you'll be the size of a thimble! It's not permanent — if no one else can help you figure out how to get back to normal, the staff certainly will — but it's definitely inconvenient!

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?

Welcome to the (second!) first TDM of Happy Hearts, a new panfandom roleplaying game here on DW! If you have any questions, please direct them to the first comment on this page. Happy playing, Oysters!

PREMISE RULES FAQ TAKEN RESERVES APPLICATION MOD CONTACT HIATUS & DROPS WORLD INFO NPCS CALENDAR AC REWARDS

© tessisamess

Comments

[scaredofdogs]

Wei Wuxian relaxes against Lan Wangji's body, settling in his lap. He is still holding that little piece of cookie.

"You gave him a ribbon..Does he get to live with you and make all the other little rabbits jealous? Did you at least give him a good name?"

[inquiryguqin]

Wei Wuxian, small as he is, is safe. He can even grasp his sleeve to nestle as a blanket.

"Mm, I named him Daiyu. He's a very handsome rabbit. He's very sociable and gentle. He gets to live with me with the others. He's like to curl up on my lap just like what you're doing now."

As he speaks, his fingertips gently stroke through his long hair, the same way he strokes a rabbit between the ears.

[scaredofdogs]

"Smart rabbit." Why is this petting thing so enjoyable? It's no wonder the rabbits like it.

"He acts that way so he can be in your lap. Clearly he enjoys your attention." This rabbit sounds way too familiar. Wei Wuxian is almost feeling a little jealous of the rabbit despite the fact that he is the one getting petted right now.

[inquiryguqin]

"Mm. He is a very smart rabbit." He said, now remembering how distant their home should be.

He kept stroking his hair with a fingertip, not minding giving Wei Wuxian his attention. If anything, he has longed to do so, giving to him.

"You now have mine. You came back."

[scaredofdogs]

He thinks back to their last night on their world. He wonders what the juniors are thinking about what they saw..

"Yeah..you ever going to tell me how you knew it was me?" He doesn't look the same..or sound the same..he has certainly not been acting the same with how he has been teasing the other man. So what about that day on the mountain...he has a guess but he can't be sure.

[inquiryguqin]

Lan Zhan's memory is bad especially after he was drunk, so he doesn't remember what he did with him in front of the juniors, which is tying his forehead ribbon around his wrists.

Lan Zhan looks calm. Perhaps the tea of joy makes a warmth swell in his chest. Despite his calm marbled expression, his golden eyes seem to carry a spark.

"Do you want to know how I know?"

[scaredofdogs]

He tilts his head back to look up at Lan Wangji's face. "I have an idea but I want to know for sure! Please just tell me!" He even said please! Look at him being so polite.

His little hand tugs on the front of Lan Wangji's robes, hoping the fact that he is tiny and adorable will help him plead his case. Not to mention the fact that the drink has obviously made them so agreeable.

[inquiryguqin]

Lan Wangji only smiled mysteriously, observing his small tiny figure pleading for the answers. Wei Wuxian's pleading pulls at his heart-strings, but it's a smalls surge, a spark of joy in his heart that his heartbeat begins to rise even though his face expressed nothing.

Softly, "Wei Ying. You have a bad memory. You told me yourself already. Think about it."

[scaredofdogs]

Wei Wuxian groans and flops against the other man. He doesn't want to think about it any more! "My memory is bad which is why you should tell me!"

But he knows that once Lan Wangji refuses to say something, the only way to really get it out of him is to get him drunk. And Wei Wuxian's still trying to recover from the last time.

[inquiryguqin]

"..." Lan Wangji himself badly wanted to tell him, but he would like Wei Wuxian to think for himself and navigate through the maze of his heart and memories. It was something he cannot enforce him to remember.

He would get him drunk just like he did that night. He succeeded two times.

"Wei Ying, is there anything you wanted to see in this inn?" After some thought. "I think they call this place Wonderland."

[scaredofdogs]

He stops his small tantrum and looks up again, "Wonderland?" He isn't sure he sees anything too wonderful about it right now. It's noisy and things could step on him in his current state.

"Since it looks like this is our new home for awhile, we're eventually going to see all of it."

He picks up the little cookie again. "Which means i probably need to get big again soon." Although now he is quite enjoying this tiny body.

[inquiryguqin]

"Wonderland." He stated. "I haven't gathered much info other than it's a type of inn and gambling place."

Gambling is a type of vice. Coming from a sect that is entirely built on 4,000 rules that guarantee that anyone who follows the path religiously, will be virtuous with self-discipline.

With a nod, he hopes Wei Ying returns to his original size. "I think and suspect there's more to this place than it looks. I can't sense it, but I think this place is enchanted with a magic."

[scaredofdogs]

"Something must be magic if it can make people shrink. That's not exactly a skill I've ever heard of anyone having back home."

He starts to munch on the cookie again. Now that he has had a drink it makes it easier to eat a little more of it.

"Whomever it is must be pretty strong if they were able to drag us from our worlds. Either that or we are in some kind of strange group dream and the person has put us all to sleep."

[inquiryguqin]

His observation isn't wrong. Knowing Wei Ying also has a repertoire of spiritual magic and knowledge on his own.

"Mn, it's in the food as well."

Lan Wangji wished he could offer more, but he haven't discovered his spiritual powers is sealed yet. Sipping a bit on his tea.

"Still, I'm happy that I had found you and you're all right. If this ever happens again with you being small, at least call for my help."

[scaredofdogs]

"I'm going to be more careful about what I eat from now on. We'll have to just keep track of what each of us are doing at all times just in case we run into anything else."

Who knows what will happen the next time he eats something. It's a little concerning. He doesn't want to starve here.

"We'll figure it out. It will just take some time."

[inquiryguqin]

With consideration, Wei Ying's strategy works. "That's a good idea. If we're staying here for a while, then we need to keep track."

On that thought, "You have that device with you? It's how I call you and write to you. It's not a carrier pigeon."

[scaredofdogs]

"Yeah I think I still have it.." He searches around his robes for a moment before pulling it out. "How did it shrink too?" Strange magic indeed...

"I think we need this to communicate with everyone. There are a lot of different languages around here but everyone seemed to be able to understand everyone else. Apparently if you stick his in your ear it will translate it." He holds up the now very tiny cord with the earpiece attached.

"Obviously we don't need it for us..but apparently we will for everyone else."

[inquiryguqin]

With a nod, "Mn." He simply acknowledged it. "It's good that you have it. I have figured it out."

Wangji looks around. He very much wants to explore more of the place, but with Wei Ying this small, he has to postpone exploring.

"Wei Ying, do you want to take a rest in your own room? I think we can explore more to look for information, but not until the spell on you is broken and I'll figure out a way for you to grow back."

[scaredofdogs]

"Do you still have the cookie? Pretty sure I just need to keep eating." He tucks the device away again.

"I think I'm a little bigger. It's hard when I can only eat things that are as big as a bug." But he did finish another piece of cookie so he was feeling like he took up a little more space on lan Wangji's lap.

[inquiryguqin]

"Mn, I still have the cookie. Your spell is not permanent, I've been told."

It seems to be working as he observes, that Wei Ying slowly grow a few inches bigger on his lap.

He offers his hand, so Wei Ying can climb on it for a ride.

[scaredofdogs]

He climbs onto the hand and then sits down since he feels way more secure that way. "I'm ready for more cookie. Let's think big thoughts."

He actually is enjoying this being little thing now. He really gets to be lazy since Lan Wangji is carrying him around. And its no worse of a ride then Lil Apple can be.

[inquiryguqin]

He wondered if he's small, would Wei Wuxian be able to detect him? He wouldn't mind carrying him around.

"Mn. I want you to be big again."

As Wei Wuxian climbs on his hand, Lan Wangji broke off a small piece, a crumb of the cookie, and offers it to him within reach.

[scaredofdogs]

He takes the crumb and starts eating it again. He's going to be really sick of cookies after this. "Apparently we all have rooms. Did you see your room yet? I haven't been to mine..everything is too far away when I can only take tiny steps."

[inquiryguqin]

Cookies isn't the only sweet food. There's scones, biscuits, and cakes, but Lan Wangji is pretty sure they might bring similar effects.

With Wei Wuxian in hand. "I'll take you to yours." He rose to his full height, being slow in case he'll feel vertigo or dizzy from being so high up.

"Just tell me your room number and I'll find it."

[scaredofdogs]

"Oh.." He doesn't know it. He pulls out the little thing they were given to see if he can find it written down somewhere. "I'll figure it out.." He clearly should have paid more attention when they arrived to if he had been told such a thing but he had been too distracted by..everything.

"Hopefully our rooms are close."