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

[billowing]

Wei Ying, I don't care for riches.

[ He doesn't care for much. He wants a simple life, with Wei Ying, and visits from their son. That's all, really. He doesn't mind the money. He doesn't mind the excessive talking, so long as Wei Ying doesn't expect much of a verbal response, though he is really trying in that regard. And he doesn't really mind the badgering.

Most days. ]

[scaredofdogs]

Ahh says the one who has it all.

[He teases even though he knows Lan Wangji doesn't really care about such things. He didn't either and knew how to live on merely trying to sell vegetables grown in the Burial Mounds. Money had not been easy to come by at that point but he still made due. Always willing to do what he had to to make sure the elders and kids could survive. Occasionally he did feel bad about making the other man pay for everything, but it can't be helped. Not too many people would be willing to hire the crazy Mo Xuanyu for odd jobs.]

I feel like I've gotten a taste of what it would feel like to travel around. Obviously we've had a task to do with finding all the body parts..but it's fun just moving from inn to inn and seeing each of the towns.

[billowing]

Mn.

[ Which means that he likes it too, and he likes going out in the mornings and getting a full workout in before buying Wei Ying breakfast from the food stalls outside, coming back to share a meal with him, and bathing, and going about their day.

He likes the ease with which they coexist.

He would have happily lived like this until he died of old age. ]

[scaredofdogs]

[Adventuring is fun but he also enjoys the peaceful life. Falling into a routine would be nice once in awhile. He could almost do that here if the place would stay normal for longer then a few days.]

We could do laps around the hotel and visit different rooms each day. That could be our equivalent of visiting different towns.

[Not quite the same but the building is larger then it seems and even he hasn't seen everything yet.]

[billowing]

Hm.

Alright.

[ That sounds like a good idea. And it'll give him more time to spend with Wei Ying, and get to know what's different between him and the other one. ]

[scaredofdogs]

[He is very pleased by the agreement. He looks forward to finding more places in the hotel with Lan Zhan. He finally gives Lan Wangji a little more space as he settles back into the spot with his abandoned tea cup that he dropped earlier.]

Are you hungry, Lan Zhan? Or are you tired of me yet?

[billowing]

I am not.

But if you are hungry, I will eat with you.

[ If his decisions are formed in part by how he could see the red in Wei Ying's eyes as he held back tears when he turned to leave with Apple and Lan Wangji did not follow, then let it be so. ]

[scaredofdogs]

I'm not that hungry but I kind of want some wine to celebrate the good news you gave me.

[And food just always goes with wine.]

And since you don't seem to be tired of me yet, I want to stay here until you kick me out.

[billowing]

We can see if the buffet is open.

[ He wants to keep Wei Ying's mind off of thinking of his fight with the other one. ]

[scaredofdogs]

[He definitely needs and appreciates the distraction. It's not been a good few weeks.f He pushes himself to his feet and stretches.]

It's worth a look! This place has a lot of different kinds of food. I went and ate a whole bunch of it! I think I ate one of everything!

[billowing]

[ This is so typical of Wei Ying. ]

You will have to show me.

[ But he can use Wei Ying's endless stomach to his advantage. ]

[scaredofdogs]

[He reaches out his hand to help pull Lan Wangji to his feet.]

I wonder if it will have new food this time. I bet it does since we ate so early last time. I met a new friend in the hallway and we shared the meal so we weren't sure the food was safe.

[billowing]

[ Smart. ]

It is safe then?

[ He lets himself be pulled, dragged around by Wei Ying who is so enthusiastic and so energetic. ]

[scaredofdogs]

[He leads the man back down towards the lobby area.]

All the food in the restaurant and all the drinks in the bar appear to be safe. I haven't encountered any issues as long as you don't accept the food that they put in the casino area.

[billowing]

Mm.

[ He walks with Wei Ying, wondering what sort of odd things there are to eat. Perhaps more spicy congee. ]

And there will be alcohol for Wei Ying.

[scaredofdogs]

Of course! They have so many varieties here. They don't have Emperor's Smile but they have some good things regardless.

[billowing]

When we return, I will buy you Emperor's Smile to celebrate.

[ Just him though. ]

[scaredofdogs]

[His smile falters slightly. It's hard to say when they will ever get to go back which would be enough to give him pause, but then when he does, it won't be with this Lan Wangji. So this promise will be hard to keep. But he barely misses a beat as that smile returns.]

When we return I'm going to drink all the Emperor's Smile in Gusu! It will be a party all night long.

[billowing]

Only as long as you stay awake.

[ Even that much Emperor's Smile would surely topple Wei Ying.

He too, momentarily was carried away. He could still buy his Wei Ying Emperor's Smile. And somewhere, this one might feel warm in the heart. ]

[scaredofdogs]

Then I'll sleep and when I wake up I will drink some more!

[No one says the celebration has to end after just one night.]

I have a lot of missed time I have to make up for.

[billowing]

[ Naturally the man comes back from the dead and wants to destroy his liver. ]

Hm.

[ Clearly, Lan Wangji does not approve. But he won't say anything. ]

[scaredofdogs]

[It's not technically his liver and this one probably doesn't already have damage from the previous years, so it's like starting over with a brand new one!]

The food here is going to be more then just vegetables and rice. Are you going to try some of it when we get there?

[billowing]

Possibly not, if there are vegetables and rice.

[ Do you think these washboard abs keep themselves? No, one must get up at 5 am to do way too many handstands and then keep a simple, clean diet in order to attain and manage them, Wei Ying! ]

[scaredofdogs]

[You need to broaden your pallet..]

It's fun to try new things Lan Zhan. Who knows what you might find that you like if you just move past the Lan sects boring diet.

[billowing]

There are many things I like, in which I do not indulge.

[ And flavorful food is apparently one of those indulgences. Did he mention he still doesn't trust this place? ]