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]

[ 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? ]

[scaredofdogs]

[trust in him then!]

And you’ve never indulged in those things? Not even once?

[billowing]

[ He, knowing full well he never kissed Wei Ying in any trees, can answer this truthfully. ]

Not once.

[scaredofdogs]

We need to change that, Lan Zhan. You need to learn to let yourself indulge once in awhile. Throw those rules out the window. You’ve already tested the waters by sticking by my side.

[billowing]

Is that not sufficient?

[ Because that was plenty indulgence.

And so was silencing anyone who spoke against Wei Ying, to be honest. ]

[scaredofdogs]

[He hums as he considers that. It's not enough. He wants to see Lan Wangji break more rules. His uncle already hates him..might as well give him more reason!]

Not enough. I'm going to make you indulge and we are going to start with the food.

[billowing]

Show me, and I will decide.

[ He'll let himself be dragged along though, because, well.

What else can he do when confronted with Wei Ying? ]

[scaredofdogs]

[Good enough. It's a start at least! He pulls him into the dining area and straight to the buffet to see what kind of food they have available today.]

Ooh..some different things. Am I hungry enough to try a little of everything again?

[Is there a better way to figure out what foods he will like? He doesn't think so.]

[billowing]

One of everything?

[ He looks quite shocked at this as he looks at just how much food there is to choose from. ]

[scaredofdogs]

You take really small portions, Lan Zhan! Just enough to taste it so that you can see if you like it. There is so much food here we've never tried before so how do you know if it's good? Only way is to try it!

[billowing]

I would be full on half a bite from a fraction of the offerings.

[ Which means he'll be taking only what looks the best.

So.

So many vegetables are going on his plate. ]

[scaredofdogs]

[Wei Wuxian looks appalled at the selection on lan wangji's plate but he'll make sure to get a few that the other man doesn't take but he might be able to convince him to at least take a bite out of.]

That's because you are used to only eating vegetables! You're missing out on so much.

[He fills a plate but is unsuccessful in getting a little of everything. He avoids the vegetables just because he can, to save space for other things. He'll just have to try the others later if he can handle a second plate.]

[billowing]

[ In response to this, Lan Wangji takes a spoonful of mushrooms and places them onto Wei Ying's plate.

The sauce totally starts to get close to the other items of food. ]

[scaredofdogs]

ACK! L-Lan Zhan!!

[How dare he taint his plate with such things! He quickly tries to give the mushrooms their own little domain on his plate but scooting the other foods away.]

How could you...

[billowing]

They are mushrooms.

[ That's not really an explanation. But if Wei Ying doesn't watch out, Lan Wangji is also going to put some steamed cabbage on his plate. ]

[scaredofdogs]

[He is going to be moving very far away from the buffet now. He clearly has enough food and doesn't want any more vegetables to show up.]

Vegetables go on your plate!

[billowing]

[ They both know if the vegetables are on Lan Wangji's plate, Wei Ying won't touch them. At least this way if they're mixed in, he'd have to purposely eat around them.

But stopping their buffet journey early with tables and tables to go, Lan Wangji follows him to a table.

He's selected for himself. Broccoli. Peas. Wilted kale. Carrots. Pickled mustard greens. And rice.

[scaredofdogs]

[He plops down at a table, staring at the miserable pile of mushroom on his otherwise meat-tastic plate. But on the way to the table he does ask the staff for his wine. This is for celebrating after all.]

I'll eat a mushroom if you eat one of the meat options on my plate.

[billowing]

[ Lan Wangji reaches over and snaps up a piece of spicy beef covered in spice, and plops it in his mouth.

It's okay. ]

I will have another if you eat all your mushrooms.

[scaredofdogs]

[He stares at him shocked. So much for that plan..it worked but also backfired. He pouts but he will mix the mushroom with some chicken and eat both at once.]

Okay, that's a deal. And then after we eat, I want to show you the desserts.

[billowing]

...Alright.

[ He selects a piece of chicken this time, a chicken finger with barbecue sauce. He.

He hates it. It's so dry. It's so crunchy. What on Earth is this? What is this sauce on top?

But he swallows it down, determined not to lose this stupid game. ]