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]

Or berry.

[He's looking more and more graceful with each jump. She leaps after and lands beside him, where she tosses her bangs.]

Would you do it again?

[icyspicy]

Steal the espresso machine specifically? Gods, no. That’s a headache I don’t want.

[ Everyone would know he did it in an instant, no matter how careful he was. ]

Stealing something else… well, I suppose it would depend. I might.

[venomnom]

[He can frame Astarion.]

Do you ever steal for yourself?

[To keep for his own satisfaction, as opposed to turning in the loot for payment or a kind of test.]

[icyspicy]

[ Gasp! Not his partner in crime! He would NEVER. ]

I have little need to, these days. When I was a child, it was a matter of survival.

[venomnom]

[It's hard for her to imagine, even surrounded by giant toys as she is, having so little to her name. She tries and comes up short as she hops over to the next block.]

A lot can change over the years. Some people stay the same while others become almost unrecognizable . . .

[icyspicy]

[ No, he doesn't suspect she can empathize. His eyes track her as she makes the jump. ]

Which camp do you belong to, if you don’t mind my asking?

[venomnom]

I'm the same as I've always been.

[Her tone is matter-of-fact. Reiju is too set in her ways to upset the status quo. Even if change is ever on the horizon . . .

She looks over her shoulder. Changing is harder, and Winter strikes her as someone who's changed over the years.]

[icyspicy]

Exactly the same?

[ Another leap, and he lands next to her easily. He's found his groove now. ]

[venomnom]

Is it that hard to imagine?

[Then it's time to get a rhythm going. They're almost to the other side of the river now, so she starts to jump across one domino after another at an unhurried pace.]

[icyspicy]

[ He follows after her, keeping pace. ]

A bit. People usually tend toward change, even in small ways. No one wants to stagnate, and you don't strike me as particularly stagnant.

[venomnom]

[She glances at him between leaps.]

No, I suppose not. But I've had everything I need since birth; all I needed to be taught was discipline.

[icyspicy]

No longing for anything more than that? I'd find it stifling after a while.

[ But perhaps that's just him. ]

[venomnom]

[And that's why he's where he is now.]

My work keeps me busy. Is freedom the most important thing for you, then?

[icyspicy]

It's certainly up there. I have a place to belong, but that place doesn't feel like a cage. That's where I place the most value.

[venomnom]

I can't imagine anyone who would place much value in a cage.

[icyspicy]

You’d be surprised.

[ SUIMINA AND GISELLE……. ]

Sometimes a cage doesn’t feel like a cage.

[venomnom]

[Surely there's discontent. Then again, what would she know?

One more hop, and she makes it to land on the other side of the river.]

Lasting impressions really are dangerous.

[icyspicy]

That’s why— yiiii!

[ Well, whatever he was going to say becomes a yelp of surprise when he hops onto the riverbank, hitting a slick bit of stone under his boots and begins to pitch backwards. ]

[venomnom]

["Yiiii"?

Flummoxed by the exclamation, Reiju is close enough that she surges upright and snaps a hand out to grab Winter by the forearm.]

[icyspicy]

[ Thank the gods for that, or else Winter would be taking a dip in the river. He claps her arm in return, finding his balance with her to steady him. ]

Sweet hells. Not my most dignified moment, was it?

[venomnom]

[She straightens, pulling him back with her onto drier land.]

You didn't fall, so it wasn't the least.

[He recovered fast. At most, it was so-so.]

[icyspicy]

Small blessings.

[ He lets her pull him, stepping close to her with the movement. ]

Thank you.

[venomnom]

[Once they're steady on their feet, she lets go of his arm. Then she takes a step in the direction of the path ahead.]

Of course. Shall we?

[icyspicy]

Of course. Who knows what giant playthings we'll stumble on next.