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]

[He's grinning from ear to ear as he brings that glass to his lips and drinks.]

Mm..I've needed a good day. It may have started off a little odd, but I don't mind how it's ending.

[billowing]

[ Lan Wangji almost makes a face in distaste at his beverage, which is carbonated and odd.

He passes it over to Wei Ying to try. ]

We have many good days.

[scaredofdogs]

[He takes the drink and tries it, he wrinkles his nose a little at the strangeness of it but it's not completely unlikable.]

I'm glad my future has fun days. But the last few weeks here have been rough. I want to have lots of good days..even if I don't deserve them. I guess that's a little selfish though.

[billowing]

[ How does he explain that he would gladly devote his life to giving Wei Ying all the good days he wants? ]

Not selfish.

[ After a moment, Lan Wangji picks up another piece of meat. This time, it's more like the chicken that Jingyi had that one time they were in a hotel. He likes this one much better. ]

[scaredofdogs]

[He watches that piece of chicken leave and he watches the other eat with a soft expression. It's nice to be able to eat like this. He reaches out and snatches one of the pieces of broccoli off of Lan Wangji's plate and sticks it in his mouth. So bland...but..for some reason it tastes better then it should.]

Then it's a promise that as long as I am by Lan Wangji's side, my days will be good.

[billowing]

[ Not that he thinks Wei Ying is readying himself to die a second time, but it does gladden him to hear. Perhaps they can both accept this, for the sake of being able to spend time together. ]

I will make you that promise.

[ It's the most idealistic thing that he's said. ]

[scaredofdogs]

[He resumes eating from his own plate and those mushrooms. Everything seems to taste a little better now actually..even the mushrooms.]

I imagine after this we will have to split up though..Since you just got here I shouldn't monopolize all your time.

[billowing]

[ That's very thoughtful of him. ]

Mm.

[ And he should go speak to the other Lan Wangji. ]

Will I see you tomorrow?

[scaredofdogs]

You can see me every day if you want to.

[He has spent a lot of days without seeing Lan Wangji lately..it would be nice to get back to seeing him every day. He had gotten use to him always being there and suddenly not having that is lonely.]

[billowing]

Then it is no problem, I will see you tomorrow.

[ He also hasn't seen Wei Ying for too long. He got a brief moment with him, and it was gone.

He had rather been looking forward to a long, long time ahead, when eventually they would settle down somewhere, and see too much of each other. He wanted to learn all of Wei Ying's bad habits and get sick of them.

For now, he eats in quiet, and drinks more of that awful seltzer. ]

[scaredofdogs]

[Wei Wuxian continues to talk through the meal, eventually clearing his plate while talking about random things. And as the food dwindles, he stands up.]

Now..dessert! There was one that I really wanted to share with you! Stay here..

[He heads over to the dessert table and looks around for that strawberry treat that he had been shown the other day. Eventually he finds it and brings it over.]

It has fruit, so no excuses about trying it!

[billowing]

...It is coated in sugar.

[ It looks like tanghulu, but presented on cake. He doesn't know if he can handle so much sugar, but he did agree to try.

Wei Ying better be prepared to eat the rest if he doesn't like it.

With a spoon, he cuts off a perfect bite. There's strawberry, there's cream, there's pastry. And as he moves the spoon away, the syrup of the strawberry flows onto the plate where there is emptiness.

He takes a mouthful, and--

--And... ]

It is not bad.

[scaredofdogs]

[Its not bad..well thats better then a look of disgust and about as much confirmation as he can expect. He picks up the second spoon and takes a large spoonful.]

It wouldn't be a good dessert if it wasn't at least a little sugary.

[He sticks the spoon in his mouth and once again hums his enjoyment of the treat.]

A sweet treat is the best way to end the day.

[billowing]

[ He wants to counter with, good reflection and light music is the best way to end the day, but he won't.

Sorry Wei Ying, your other husband's a square too. ]

If it were up to you, it would be how you start the day too.

[scaredofdogs]

Mm..That's true! A good balanced way to start and end the day! Sugar to wake me up in the morning and get the energy going and then how nice it would be just collapsing in bed with a full stomach of sweets inside for sweet dreams.

[He could use some sweet dreams. He wonders if it will actually work..]

[billowing]

That will give you a stomachache.

[ He's going to be in for a surprise in October when they learn about Halloween. ]

[scaredofdogs]

[He will just think there are lots of sweets on his birthday!]

My stomach is pretty strong, Lan Zhan. I eat really spicy things after all. It can handle anything!

[billowing]

[ Alright, he yields. Heaven knows why he thought he should bring up sweets to Wei Ying in the first place. ]

You will finish this one first.

[scaredofdogs]

This one is for both of us! You should eat more of it.

[He has already eaten most of his half.]

[billowing]

[ He will eat one more bite, but then he says: ]

Wei Ying, I am full. You should eat the rest.

[scaredofdogs]

[He takes another bite.]

Mm..If you are sure, then I don't mind finishing it off!

[And in just a few more bit mouthfuls, that little treat will be gone.]

[billowing]

[ If he wanted more, he would've gotten up and gotten another one. But this was a good, filling meal.

He does have one more thing to say: ]

He is fond of you. When he remembers.

[scaredofdogs]

[He pauses with the fork in his mouth as it takes him a moment to understand the statement. And then he slowly removes it and sets it down. As if his heart wasn't full enough.]

I was barely a blotch of ink in the story of his life. He has no reason to be fond of me.

[He got all his family members killed..]

But that still makes me happy.

[billowing]

You planted him in the ground with the radishes, so he would grow taller.

And you taught him things.

[ Those are the memories that Sizhui holds dear. Lan Wangji would not know them, if they were not precious. ]

[scaredofdogs]

Yeah I guess I did..I'm glad he remembers even if it takes him some time. Even if he didn't, I think I'd still be happy to make new memories with him that he would remember.

[He looks forward to that now and hopes that all the memories are good ones for him from this point on.]