it's getting hot in here

[happyheartsstaff]

SO (PLEASE DON'T) TAKE OFF ALL YOUR CLOTHES

Days are almost meaningless, here in Wonderland. With the eternal twilight outside the windows and many of the hotel's amenities open around the clock, it can be hard to keep track, can't it? But you must sleep, or at least return to your room, some time. It's on one of these times that you may begin to notice a faint sound coming from inside the walls. Or is it the ceiling? The floor? Something that sounds like scratching, or tapping, or the strained whir of machinery. Then it fades away. Whether it's moving on to another room or stopping entirely, it's hard to tell.

After a few nights, or days, of this happening, it suddenly stops. There's a brief period of peace, and perhaps you even get some rest. Then there's a series of thumps, sharp clicks and a loud stuttering sound that signals the hotel's air conditioning unit giving out.

At first it's not so bad. It's dark out, right, how hot can it really be outside? The air itself still seems to be circulating, albeit more slowly, but it's enough that you can breathe. But the heat seems to keep building, and building, the air hanging heavy and thick and leaving a lingering feeling that it's pressing down on you. Even sitting still no longer becomes enough to ease the suffocating heat.

The staff don't know what's happened to the air conditioner, when you ask. "Oh, that finicky thing", they say, as if it's a minor inconvenience. They assure you that the Queen's mechanics will have it fixed in no time — they always do. In the meantime, can they interest you in a refreshing iced tea? Perhaps a dip in the pool?

Is it your imagination, or do a few of the staff seem a little uncertain as they try to brush off your questions? A little less confident than they always have been before? Whatever their demeanor, it seems they still have no answers to give. The astute may notice that after a conversation with one of these staff, they can't seem to be found again.

As if that weren't enough, the scratching in the walls starts up again. With the oppressive heat, the rising tension and frayed nerves, is it any wonder that the staff might seem more apprehensive?

THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT 06/11 - 06/13

Sleeping is probably hard enough, in a hotel where the activity never seems to cease. At least it's generally quiet in the upper floors, at least Oysters can turn out the lights in their own room and find some peace.

...usually, anyway.

At first it's only the faintest sounds, something only noticeable to those who sleep lightly. The staff, if asked, don't acknowledge hearing anything and seem politely concerned about anything disturbing the rest of their guests. Oysters may be offered ear plugs, or a device to listen to music, or a trip to the spa for relaxation.

Then it grows in both volume and frequency, disturbing even the heaviest of sleepers at night. Some staff still say they haven't heard anything, other staff acknowledge the sounds but brush them off, unconcerned. Every building has its quirks, after all! There does seem to be an increase in staff milling about, however, making it difficult for those who may want to look into things without being seen.

CLICK CLICK... THUMP

06/14 - 06/21

The fourth day of the event begins with a short period of blissful silence, quickly ruined by a loud, persistent clicking sound, audible in all parts of the hotel... And then an even louder THUMP as the air conditioning unit gives out.

At first, it's not terrible — the air is still circulating, and while the heat is uncomfortable it's not unbearable. As time goes on, though, the heat builds and builds, until not even staying in place will provide any relief.

The staff profess ignorance to whatever happened to the air conditioner, if asked — some more convincingly than others. They all offer iced teas for relief, and suggest a dip in the Pool of Tears, though those who seem uncertain when answering any questions will try to leave the conversation faster, and won't be easily found again.

While the iced teas are incredibly effective at helping to beat the heat, they once again seem to offer some strange effects — enough glasses, and Oysters will be overcome either with anger and irritation, or a sense of serene calm. Any little thing could set off an Oyster who's been affected by the anger-inducing tea; an Oyster who drank the calming tea is utterly unflappable. These effects persist for just as long as it takes for the cooling effects to wear off, at which point Oysters are left with a choice — deal with the heat, or take their chances with another tea?

And to top it all off, the scratching noise in the walls has started up again. The few staff remaining at this point are as unhelpful as ever, but they don't have the same infuriating calm to their answers — but who could blame them being a little nervous?

QUEEN'S ADDRESS

06/21

And finally, the tenth day brings relief in the form of a loud shuddering sound, and then the quiet whoosh of a working air conditioner. Over the course of the day, the Hotel gets progressively cooler, until it is once again at the comfortable, cool temperature Oysters had grown used to in their first month here in the Hotel.

It also brings an address from the Queen.

"Oh, my curious Oysters, when you try to play with that which you don't understand, you break things! Not to fear, all has been set to rights now that our dear Dormouse has fixed what some careless guest disrupted. If you wanted to play games, you should have simply said! I have a dear companion for you who is so eager to join in the fun."

The Queen will not respond to any messages sent back to her.

If you have any questions, please direct them to the OOC post here. RNG results for the off limits areas will be going out tomorrow, so if anyone would still like to sign up for those that hasn't yet please do so tonight!

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

© tessisamess

Comments

[billowing]

It makes Lan Wangji wonder if anyone's walking around with any of their abilities. Or what happens when they get sent someone else's abilities.

"Is that the only one you have?" he asks.

[scaredofdogs]

He shakes his head. "I have two more. But I haven't taken them yet. I figured this one would be the most safe since I'm familiar with it."

He worries a little bit about the other two, but one in particular has his curiosity piqued and he can't wait to give it a shot.

[billowing]

Mm. Well, it's comforting to know that of all the things he could've chosen, that was the one he went with first.

But he supposes if the spirits won't talk...

"What did you ask them before?"

[scaredofdogs]

He tilts his head as he considers the list of questions.

"Several things..but mostly what I've determined is that they are scared of the Queen, staff have gone missing and the spirits say they don't know anything about it or the noises in the wall. But there are apparently rebel groups and no one should trust the queen." He was sure there was more but it was a lot of information to take in over the course of the last couple days.

"The spirits actually seemed pretty happy to have someone to talk to."

[billowing]

"Then you should talk to them more. They are already dead." What have they got to lose?

Then he thinks for a moment.

"The barkeep. He accused me and the other you of allying with someone he wouldn't name or describe."

There's a mysterious Oyster who seems to have kicked a hornet's nest. So he'd like to ask that person questions.

[scaredofdogs]

"Oh? One of the rebels maybe.." The ghosts didn't seem to know much about them but perhaps he had only talked to the wrong ones.

"If the queen is a bad person it would make sense that people would rebel against her."

[billowing]

"Yes. Will you ask them? About the stranger." He doesn't have another description, sorry. Just that he asks a lot of questions.

Sort of like they're doing.

Also that they don't look like Wei Ying or Lan Wangji because he's sure that the barkeep would have mentioned a pair.

[scaredofdogs]

He nods and brings the flute back up, asking the question the best way he can. The response was one again strange and marbled with so many spirits trying to talk.

"I don't think they know anything..but did you hear that part about an 'old queen'?" These spirits needed to settle down or else they were going to give him a headache.

[billowing]

"An old queen... the previous queen?" He asks, hit with the inspiration.

Great, they're going to go down the wrong path entirely, what sort of a description was that.

[scaredofdogs]

"Maybe we can get more information from the staff about a previous queen."

Wei Wuxian suddenly feels a little tired as using an ability after so long finally starts to take it's toll on this body. He starts to weave a little but tries to shakes it off.

"We could ask..." And that's all he can get out as his knees go weak.

[billowing]

He opens his mouth to say something back but then he dives to catch him instead. "Wei Ying?"

He checks, worriedly, for injury. What has happened?

[scaredofdogs]

He tries to shake the fog from his head. He should have known that trying to do so much in one day was going to exhaust him. Especially after weeks of not being able to use any ability. And he had been using this so much because of his excitement at being able to do it.

"I'm..okay, Lan Zhan. Just a little tired."

He can still do this..He's stubborn and doesn't want to just give up. Especially when he doesn't know how long he will have this ability.

[billowing]

"Let me take you up to your room. You should sleep." It's kind of not an appropriate time to sleep, but they've had a trying week. Wei Ying is free to take a nap, maybe he will recover and be able to play a second time.

[scaredofdogs]

He shakes his head, "It's hot in my room..and if I fall asleep I might lose this ability. I can't take that chance. I need to find out all I can before I lose it."

He tries to stand back up, determined to see this true.

"If something or someone is dangerous in this place...then we have to deal with it."

[billowing]

"I will watch over you. If you fall again, we are stopping."

Finding out this way isn't worth Wei Ying's health. He knows Wei Ying doesn't really care, but they are not as robust as they were at home. And so, Lan Wangji does care.

[scaredofdogs]

"Deal.." If he falls again he can definitely agree that it has been too much. He takes a deep breath, "Okay..what should I ask them next?"

He tries to think over everything they have said so far.

[billowing]

Lan Wangji thinks about this. It should be very important, because if Wei Ying doesn't make it past this question, then they shouldn't have anything left to ask.

"If we ask over the previous queen, I don't think they will tell us."

[scaredofdogs]

"It's hard to tell if they are more scared of this queen or that one..It makes me wonder how long this queen has been in charge. But they might not know that answer if they have been dead since the previous one."

Wei Wuxian frowns as he tries to figure out how to best use his time with these spirits. They are obviously happy to have someone to talk to, but their answers are vague at best. As if they want to help but can't for some reason.

[billowing]

"Perhaps we should ask them what it looks like," he says. Because then they can go look for the physical location. And hopefully by the time they do that, Wei Ying will have slept some and recovered some of his strength to ask more questions.

[scaredofdogs]

"Let's see what I can do.."

He plays a few notes, hoping that he can maybe get a few more answers out of them before they get frustrated or leave. When the responses come he only gets confirmation that they had to go higher and stay in the back.

"Higher..? But the thing that takes us to our rooms won't let us go any higher." He turns his head and looks up the stairwell they are currently standing in.

[billowing]

"If it won't go higher, perhaps there is another staircase."

He looks to Wei Ying and holds his hand out.

"Let me take you to your room. We can go after you rest."

[scaredofdogs]

He sighs since he knows there isn't any point in arguing. If he doesn't walk himself, Lan Zhan might just pick him up and carry him back. He takes the hand offered to him.

"I told you I'm fine..but maybe we can come up with a plan."

[billowing]

They can start walking towards the elevator. It's quicker than the stairs.

"What's your plan?" he asks. It had better include some shut-eye so that he doesn't physically collapse on Lan Wangji later.

[scaredofdogs]

"Ah...ha..well I don't really have one but I guess you're going to put me in bed and make sure I stay there."

Which he might not do if someone doesn't keep him there. But he follows along obediently.

[billowing]

If only he could put on a temporary body bind so he didn't have to stay.

Still, he could have a worse use of his time.

"Your room."