All I Want...

[mariahscarey]

WHO: You, a friend... and M̸̨̧̤̫̩͉͍͆͗͊͒̂̄͂͒͑̾͆̊͐̀̄͒͌͘̕̕a̴̢̖̦̩̼̒͑̒͋̆̀͊͗̽͘͘̚͜͝ŗ̸̮͙̻̗̳̹͖͔̝̞͎̩̪͔̗̙̪̠̩̫̆̐̍͊͊̋̊̿͆͝͝ǐ̷̡̝̯͉̠̮̲̼̲̼̋̈̽̒̈́̈́̾͛͌̀͑̇̋͆̆̀̚͘a̴̧̬̼̖̪͈̜͖͖̥̱̰̰͗̋͠ͅḫ̷̛̗̯̔́̍͒̓́͒̂͊͐͠͝
WHERE: Floor 13
WHEN: Today and today only!
WHAT: Getting into the spirit!
WARNINGS: Certain songs may get stuck in your head.



[ It's a perfectly normal day within the hotel. As normal as the hotel can be.

Until you get on the elevator. Maybe you're going back to your room. Maybe you're going to see a friend.
Doesn't matter!

The elevator does not go to the floor you told it to go to. It goes to Floor 13. No amount of button pushing will get that to change, weirdly enough, and the door opens not to a weird man and his skeleton friends but a veritable wintry wonderland! Big, giant flakes float down from the sky (ceiling?), blanketing the ground in white, perfect for snow angels. When you step off the elevator, your attire is instantly transformed into either a cute or awkward-looking santa-themed outfit! When you turn around, the elevator is Fucking Gone. Instead, a vast forest looms before you.

But that's okay! There's a perfectly delightful song echoing all around you! And a sign attached to a red-and-white striped pole dangling before you with the following written: ]

HARK AND BEWARE
FLEE IF YOU DARE
THE SECRET TO SAFETY
FIND SOMEONE TO CARE

HAND IN HAND, DO RETURN
WITH A SONG OR A DANCE
OR ELSE YOU SHALL LEARN
SHE WILL TAKE YOUR LAST CHANCE

[ there's another sign later on if you Don't Get It that details, more helpfully, that you are now stuck on this floor and being hunted by "Her", and your only way to escape is to find another person, hold hands, and appease her with your best sweet dance moves or musical duet (yes, it does indeed have to be both of you).

How do you know if "She" is getting closer?

Well, the music will change. "She" will emerge, brandishing a razor-sharp candy cane.

And "She" cannot be killed.

Good luck!

(She is going to jump scare you in these threads no I am not going to warn you when that would be nice of me) ]

Comments

[venomnom]

[Hm . . . ]

You're right.

[She steps away from the dice.]

We should be careful. If that woman can traverse floors, there are plenty of places for her to make an ambush unseen.

[icyspicy]

Well, in normal circumstances, it would be very difficult to take me by surprise.

[ He pats the dagger that is always on his belt. ]

This should warn us of approaching danger. Perhaps now that we're out of that woman's... lair, I suppose, it will work as intended.

[venomnom]

[Oh?]

What an unusual dagger. Does it speak to you?

[icyspicy]

In a sense. It will magically alert us of oncoming danger, to ensure we aren’t taken by surprise.

So long as you stay within thirty feet of me, that is.

[venomnom]

[She looks around them. With how large everything is, it would be easy to lose track of each other if they were to wander off for a second.]

I don't see a reason for us to split up just yet.

[Then she glances at the dagger before looking up at Winter.]

It doesn't seem to be the work of haki, so I'm curious to see how it observes our surroundings.

[icyspicy]

[ He’d prefer not to split up at all, thanks.

She meets his gaze and he quirks a brow. ]

“Haki”? I’m afraid I’m not familiar.

[venomnom]

[Don't you worry, Mister. She's here to stay.]

It's an innate power of the spirit. Trained practitioners can use it for a variety of applications, such as observation to hear the presence and actions of nearby souls.

[icyspicy]

[ Sounds like monk shit to him. ]

I don’t think it’s anything quite so fancy. I am attuned to the weapon, meaning it’s linked to me mentally, or else I wouldn’t be able to make use of the enchantment.

[venomnom]

That sounds more like what I'm used to working with, if not exactly. It's convenient when something is linked to you, isn't it?

[icyspicy]

It is, but I think that’s rather the point of enchanting an object. For convenience.

[ In their wanderings, it looks like they’ve reached a platforming section made up of a bunch of giant dominoes spanning a river. ]

Huh. More games. Shall we see what’s on the other side?

[venomnom]

[Yes, let's.

Reiju meets Winter's gaze with the usual smile before she strides up to the dominoes. She considers the distance for a moment, then takes a measured leap and lands in a crouch on the first domino, where she looks over her shoulder in invitation.]

[icyspicy]

[ He quirks a brow at her, but follows along. The first leap he makes easily, landing alongside her with a soft grunt. ]

You're not about to make this a contest, are you? I'm a terrible cheat.

[venomnom]

Won't that dampen the sense of adventure?

[She punctuates the question with another jump to the next block. Isn't jumping riveting, Winter?]

[icyspicy]

You never struck me as the—

[ Jump! He lands a little less gracefully this time but makes it. ]

—adventurous type. Is the whimsy of this place getting to you?

[venomnom]

[Reiju jumps again. It's getting easier to gauge the distance and necessary power to take appropriate leaps.]

I just don't see the need to rush. Besides, wouldn't you rather conserve your energy for the potential chase?

[They've still no idea if that woman can cross floors. Maybe she can even scale dominos against the river current.]

[icyspicy]

[ He's not so sure they're being followed, but she's right. Best to err on the side of caution. ]

Fair enough. It's not as if my magic is unlimited.

[venomnom]

[This time, she doesn't move on just yet.]

Is it tiring to use magic?

[icyspicy]

I suppose it can be, depending on the circumstances. A prolonged battle would take the wind out of anyone's sails.

For me, at least, my magic draws on the power gifted to me by my patron. And while they are quite generous, I am still given a finite pool to use. Once it's spent, I must rest to recover it.

[venomnom]

In other words, magic is a gift to be used wisely. Does that mean there are no downsides to using it?

[icyspicy]

Again, that probably depends on the caster. No one has infinite power at their disposal, and if they do, they probably paid a heavy price to get it. Such things don't come for free.

[venomnom]

Very few things in life do.

[It makes her wonder. Is the tab the price to pay for a wish? Will it amount to anything? Or . . . ]

You're not so greedy for a thief.

[icyspicy]

Oh? I'm no saint either, I assure you. I steal things because I'm good at it.

Despite what my misadventures with the espresso machine would have you believe.

[venomnom]

[Ah, yes, the espresso machine.]

What happened there?

[icyspicy]

With the espresso machine? Satoru asked Astarion to steal it, likely for kicks. I was asked to tag along. Considering we were barely taking the whole thing seriously, it went rather well.

A shame that such things don't exist in our world, and no one bothered to explain, so we had no idea how to take it without breaking it.

[venomnom]

It's been a difficult loss for some of the guests.

[Akira comes to mind. The boy was miserable, she recalls as she takes the next leap onto a domino.]

Didn't you ask for payment?