angryhearts | to lose all my senses

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to lose all my senses —

THAT IS JUST SO TYPICALLY ME

It's not clear how many days it's been since you arrived in Wonderland. With it stuck in perpetual twilight, it could have been days, perhaps longer — everything starts to blur together, in this artificially joyful place. Maybe you've started to feel like you you're getting used to it, maybe not...

But eventually, something happens to break the monotony. Your ears begin to ring, and ring, and ring and then — stop. The lights become blinding, forcing you to squeeze your eyes shut and try to rub the afterimage of all that light from them — but when you open your eyes, you still can't see.

The staff don't understand when you ask them what's happened to you. "You've always been like this", they insist. They sign at you, or try to hand you papers written in braille — if you insist you've never signed in your life, or that you can't read braille, they laugh at your funny joke. You begin to wonder — have you always been this way? You were so sure... But everyone around you is equally sure of their truth, and their voices are so much louder.

As if that weren't enough, nothing in the hotel can be found in the same place twice. All the shops keep switching places, once you enter one area it's as though everything shifts in the minutes before you leave again. Getting back to your room is a struggle — where are the elevators? Finding food is nearly impossible — the Pig & Pepper was there, but now it's not. The staff are equally useless here — they have no idea what you mean about moving shops. Where would you want to move to when all your needs are accounted for right here?

What is going on?

SEE NO EVIL, HEAR NO EVIL — 5/11

The day starts like any other has in the Hotel — unsure if a new day has started at all. Perpetual twilight and lack of clocks makes it difficult to tell time here in the Hotel, but on this particular day, something breaks up the monotony. It begins slowly — or else it happens all at once. Over the course of the day, all Oysters find themselves losing a sense. Staff don't understand their complaints — you've always been like this, they say, gentle, as though to a person in the middle of a break with reality.

Losing your temper won't help, either. Oysters who shout and yell will find staff remaining frustrating calm and compassionate, insisting that they cannot fix what has always been and murmuring about Mad March before taking their leave. Physical aggression may result in a spike of fear, but staff will quickly make their exit and may avoid that Oyster for a while.

If that wasn't enough, nothing in the Hotel is staying put.

IT'S LIKE A MAZE IN HERE — 5/11

The interior of the Hotel has ceased to remain stationary. Beginning at the same time as the loss of senses, the establishments of the Hotel begin to jump around, never staying in the same place twice. An Oyster may have entered the Pool of Tears from the lobby, but exit it into the middle of the casino. The Pig & Pepper Buffet is never in the same place twice, and always seems to move right when Oysters desperately need a meal.

Even as the old shops move, new establishments seem to be being added, but they aren't easy to find — Oysters will see a new sign across the building from where they are, only to see it's moved again by the time they get there. If you take your eyes off an establishment as you head toward it, it disappears and reappears elsewhere. Making it to the new establishments will take some time and dedication (or perhaps plain stubbornness), but there are rewards in it for any Oyster that can manage the feat!

Back To Rights — 5/15

A few days after the effects of the event begin, they just as suddenly end. Sight, hearing, speech — they all return in a rush, possibly overwhelmingly so, and when one tries to make their way to a shop, it stays exactly where it was when they first saw it, and they exit the exact same place they entered. Staff will react much the same way as they did when they were questioned after the loss of senses — you've always been like this.

You made it through, Oysters. You've completed your first event in the Hotel.

We hope you enjoy this first event, Oysters! If you have any questions, please leave them on the first comment to this page. Happy playing!

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

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Away from our jailers.

[ You know, like all prisoners. ]

Neither have I.

"Likely because the landscape keeps changing," River commented dryly, as if she could still read his thoughts. But really, it was only because she was thinking the same thing.

"I had...we'll call it specialized training. I have very good instincts. And excellent senses. For the most part, it's kept me out of trouble so far." But absolutely nothing in this infernal hotel would stay where it ought to be.

"Where was it you were headed?"

[Yes it was. Not at all what she was really expecting him to say, but appearances can be deceiving.]

Could you really study during all this?

[She'll put away the Empathy since there doesn't seem to be a language issue here. They can just muddle through lip reading instead.]

With the way things are moving around, the library could suddenly become the pool instead.

[Seems like that would be a problem.]

[While Mikumo can't hear him, the body language is somewhat telling, and she's not completely incapable of reading lips. So while she's somewhat sympathetic to the instinctive reaction - she's worked with military pretty much her entire life, so that immediate fight reaction strikes a chord - she arches a brow slightly as she pulls out her Empathy. He can clearly see her, so she's assuming he's having the same kind of problem as her.

It only takes her a moment to tap out a message and show it to him, mouth curved in a half-smile.]

I can't hear, so whatever charming introduction you just made, you might have to write it out.

[It's polite on the surface, besides the "charming".]

[Mikumo goes straight for the counter in her searching, lifting one or two bottles from the back shelf and holding them up to the light to inspect their contents. She's not intimately familiar with how alcohols are usually supposed to look, but she hangs around with military types enough to have some idea, so she's mostly checking to see if anything is immediately and blatantly off.

Her first few bottles get nothing, though, so she fishes her Empathy out again to answer that question.]

No. I was wondering if the drinks were similar to those strange teas we were offered in the casino. But they don't look visibly different to any alcohol I've seen before, so maybe it really is just a place to unwind.

[She looks visibly doubtful about that, but she supposes if toying with their emotions is a thing they do here, they'd need places where they could get away from it as well.]

Mikumo's at least halfway decent at reading lips, and thankfully, most of the people here fall into the three main languages found on most Macross fleets, which means they were considered necessary knowledge for her. So just in case the Empathies are going to be out to mess with them at any point, she switches over to Chinese to continue the conversation.

"Not saying anything would have been a bit cruel. Is it only hearing and sight they've taken from people, do you know?"

The bulk of the people she's run into so far have lost their hearing, so she's curious if there's any sort of identifiable pattern.

[Mikumo's still in the process of trying to adjust to not having her hearing, so she's not going to begrudge anyone needing a moment to think before they "speak". She's not even sure how she'd put her thoughts on this whole thing just yet if someone asked her for them.

Kiara raises a good point, though, and Mikumo frowns for a moment before tapping something on her own Empathy. It's slow and ponderous, as if she's considering the words as she writes them.]

I might be biased, but this feels a little bit like an experiment. Doing unusual things to a small group of people to see how we react. The staff seem instructed to give a specific response, which I don't think is meant to be convincing.

[She's partially speculating here, but given her whole life has been war, she's seen some of the odd social experiments that spring up during wartime. When she has minimal comparison points for something like this, she's going for the obvious one.]

Mikumo can't even object to that right now, honestly, since she definitely has a lot of thoughts about what just transpired that she's mostly too professional to air. But Crowley's little rant definitely has a grimace of a smile creeping onto her face, the expression of someone who knows the feeling and wishes she didn't.

Of course, she's perfectly happy to pick things up once they get back to talking and not just ranting, offering a dry laugh at his question. "I'm a singer, so definitely not. I suppose at least they didn't take my voice like one person I met, but hearing wasn't much better."

That said, his mention of 'mortals' has her eyes moving thoughtfully to his wings. "I don't mean to pry, but what are you if not mortal?"

She's not unfamiliar with the concepts of angels and demons, but she only very recently had cause to be thinking much about that sort of thing, and even then, it wasn't Earth beliefs she was being confronted with.

Wei wuxian shakes his head. He's not entirely sure of that answer but he does know of one special case. "But my friend has lost his voice but that's the only other thing I have noticed." Lucky for him that is easy to deal with although not being able to see a nod or shake of the head does make it a bit more difficult.

"The bar actually. I really needed a drink after learning I couldn't see anything." He at least thought he was heading in the correct direction but now it seemed there was no such thing.

"What about you? Where were you headed?"

Wei Wuxian can't see, but Lan Wangji nods in agreement with that. He realized what if there is a different dimension inside and out of the hotel? Would they be able to explore beyond the building itself? This is something to discuss once his voice returns.

Lan Wangji doesn't want to risk eating any of the known foods he has written on his list that change their size or enchant the emotions.

Giving his friend's sleeve another light tug, but only because he wanted to. "..." His response would have been the typically Mn anyway.

[Lan Wangji, by his virtue, isn't interested in spirits or drinks other than tea. However, though the influence of his friend, Wei Wuxian, who probably lost right about now and he should go looking for him to see if he's all right. Still, he might have discovered an interesting find.

Overall, in his findings, there's nothing interest to note other than trying to figure out the purpose of this place like the others and he wondered if it's linked to the Queen of Wonderland.]

Place to unwind? Probably. I drank one of the teas. I'm not sure how to explain the effects other than I'm filled with joy and upliftment. Normally, I'm fine and content.

Have you tried the teas offered as well?

Wei Wuxian finishes his drink. He didn't waste any time with it. he had been thirsty since he had avoided drinking normally ever since his first encounters with the food. To say he had become a bit anxious about it would be putting it mildly.

"You know what I would like to find..that place with the indoor pond. I heard about it but never got to see it." Not that swimming in the pool is probably the best of options when blind but that doesn't mean it wouldn't be fun to take a dip.

Perhaps he's just coming up with random topics since his associate can't actually engage in anything. It's up to him to keep the conversation flowing.

"Dunno. Make us more compliant and thus more receptive to what they have on offer. We wind up providing them with the emotions they do want, once they got rid of all that pesky fear and doubt that gets in the way."

Crowley's lips curl into a wry smile. If any of that was the case, they'd have their work cut out for them with Crowley. He's been Doubting since the dawn of time.

"Where were you before all this happened? Somewhere on Earth? You seem pretty human to me."

"Knew a guy a while back who didn't need his hearing to write music. But I imagine it's different when you're singing - gotta. Gotta be able to find your key or pitch or whatnot."

Crowley lowered his sunglasses and gave as much a grin as his headache would permit and winked one yellow snake eye.

"As for your question, I'll let you guess."

Crowley holds Aziraphale steady on the landing, staring up several flights of stairs with no door out in sight.

"Uh."

There are bad ideas, and then there's Crowley's bad ideas - always seeming like perfectly good ideas right up until they bite him in the ass.

"It's a ways. Think you can get up on my back? I could try carrying you."

[ Success.

There's a little bit of a delay, and looking down at his Empathy to read the text then looking back up is no real way to have a conversation, but it's better than nothing. ]

I snagged a few things from the buffet this morning, if you want one? The way things're going, I wasn't sure if I was gonna be able to find it again.

[ That, and he'd used smuggling a bag of food out to try to disguise the fact that he'd grabbed a knife, too, but he's not really looking to advertise that fact. ]

[Her eyebrows raise a little while reading that. An experiment? That's certainly an interesting way to look at it. She doesn't know what goes through the staff's heads, but it's definitely a new angle to think about.]

If that's what it is, it's a rather cruel one. But if it is one, it means it could eventually come to an end.

[She's managing okay, but she figures that can't be the case for everyone. People have all sorts of ways of handling with stressful situations and this is certainly well, she'd say unique. Definitely not everyday stress unless some of the other oysters are from worlds even stranger than hers.]

[ Better than average.

Normally, that'd only just barely catch his attention - that was true for half his friends back home, after all - but the fact that it's in line with what he saw with Aziraphale and what he and Wei Wuxian talked about makes it register a lot more. ]

I've met others who had that happen to them, too. Leads me to think it might be all of us. Either they like messing with a bunch of us at once, or they were always planning this and brought everyone down to the same level at first.

[ Which is an incredibly unsettling thought, and probably the only ones who can really tell them are the staff. He starts to hold it out for her to read, then hesitates and adds one more thing before showing her. ]

You want to go try and find out some answers?

"Yes. China..though from a time that didn't have anything that this place has. The fact there is a thing in my room that brings water is very impressive." Showers and faucets were a very fascinating thing when he first found his room.

"But I'm definitely human. I'm a cultivator." of the dark arts..but he tries to leave that part off as much as he can.

[ Despite the fact that it's unlikely to be helpful, the apparent yelling makes Sam grin - which is a good thing, since the little shout would have made him grin, too, even though he couldn't hear it. That's a good enough answer for him about which sense Wei Wuxian is missing.

Sam taps the side of his head, cupping one of his ears briefly to indicate that he can't hear, either.

Then he glances over at the shop across the way - or where it'd been - and bumps his shoulder lightly against Wei Wuxian's, one eyebrow raised in a silent question.

What was he thinking? ]

❰ oh good, sam didn't hear any of that. wuxian nods, and looks back to the shop — gone, as he'd suspected. he huffs an indignant sigh, looking back to sam. how on earth can he explain what it is that's going through his head right now? time to get creative.

he points to his eyes, then points to the shops. see how they're all staying in place, since someone's looking at them? then he turns away from the shops and reaches out to cover sam's eyes for a second, and when he opens them —

poof, no shops. or at least, none of the same ones.

he indicates all this to sam through gestures and annoyed faces, with no idea whether it's making it through the barrier of their mutual deafness. then he points to himself and holds his hand over his eyes, then points to sam and then to the shops. if wei wuxian looks away from the shops but sam keeps looking, do they move then? ❱

[ Hearing it is, then. He follows suit in pulling out his own Empathy, offering her a smile at the apology before typing out his response. ]

You either, huh? Seems like it's fifty fifty on whether it's hearing or sight. Have you had any luck on learning anything from the staff here?

[ He doubts it, but he can't help but ask. ]

[ Annoyed and angry are totally legit responses to this, as far as Sam's concerned - sure, he could have done without the eye roll, but he's not gonna give the guy a hard time for being irritable with everything going on. ]

You and me both. I was just asking if you minded me joining you.

[ It's making it through. In part because Sam's already noticed that the shops only move when he's not looking at them - or at least, that's what it's seemed like - and in part because he already expects Wei Wuxian to be trying to figure out what's going on, judging by their last conversation.

He flashes a thumbs up once he figures out what he's being asked, shifting his focus to staring at the shop. He keeps up until he starts really feeling like he has to blink, and then he wonders - is just blinking enough to give them a chance to move? If they switch off having to blink, will they freeze one long enough to get to it?

Before he has to blink, he tugs Wei Wuxian's sleeve to get his attention, pointing out that the shop's still there - Wei Wuxian was right.

Then it's his turn to try to get what he wants to try across. He covers his eyes, then Wei Wuxian's, then his own again, trying to get across the general message of switch off?

Then he points at his eyes, blinking slowly and purposefully, then points at the shop - how long do they have to look away for it to move? ]

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Page 7 of 21

to lose all my senses —

THAT IS JUST SO TYPICALLY ME

SEE NO EVIL, HEAR NO EVIL — 5/11

IT'S LIKE A MAZE IN HERE — 5/11

Back To Rights — 5/15

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