AUDIENCE FOR: Hua Cheng

[guestservices]

Comments

week 0, sunday

[guestservices]

[shadows coalesce behind hua cheng, and vulpecula steps out of them before clearing their throat.]

Hi! You wanted to talk?

[supremity]

[ tanhua swivels his head abruptly with the clearing of the throat, ears up, then pinning. hua cheng shifts to lean against the counter, crossing his arms and tilting his own head. ]

Huh. Going to have to get used to being on the other side of this. [ casual. anyways, ] So, how much do you get to talk about your role as staff?

week 0, sunday

[guestservices]

[shadows converge near the wall, and then a hand appears out of them



just enough to throw a balled-up piece of paper at hua cheng before retreating back into the shadows and vanishing.]

[supremity]

[ SEE YOU NEXT WEEK COWARD ]

week 0, sunday

[guestservices]

[ after a moment of standing there, hua cheng will see shadows begin to coalesce out of the ground, and out steps the form of ...aquila! they pop up beside him. ]

Hua Cheng. Did I say that right? How can I help you?

[supremity]

[ i don't know, did they?

at least this doesn't startle him, even if tanhua gives aquila a little bit of the stink eye from behind his legs. ]

Your accent could use some work. [ is this joking? this is a text medium. ] No demands or complaints. I'm sure you've gotten plenty of sarcastic versions of the former and even more sincere versions of the latter.

So - that was bullshit out of the staff's hands, yeah? The execution.

week 0, sunday

[guestservices]

[when hua cheng rings the bell, shadows appear before him, from which emerges cetus. when they speak, their voice has an odd, almost muffled quality to it.]

Did you require assistance?

[supremity]

[ hm, not quite sure if that's the beekeeper veil or something else involved in that. ]

Curiosity more than anything else. I don't expect any of you to be able to answer the probing questions, especially on the first week.

Your week coming up next?

week 0, sunday

[guestservices]

[not long after the bell, the typewriter at the front desk receives a message.]

aquarius cant come to the bell right now
leave a message after the ping
ping

[supremity]

[ this is fine, hua cheng taps at the keys in response. ]

no puns for your away message?
probably for the best.
does guest relations entail the suites we've been assigned while we're here?

week 1, wednesday

[guestservices]

[ re: i want to see my contract and discuss room service. ]

Very well.
Is there somewhere you would prefer to meet, Hua Cheng?

[supremity]

[ i like that you include the re: thank you this helps everyone remember wtf these threads are about ]

courtyard is suitable.

w1, sunday

[guestservices]

[ we'll go ahead and set this post execution for both of our sakes, but it is easy to start it now, so!

when hua cheng rings the bell, the service is prompt - shadows swirl at the desk, and orion appears beside him. ]

Good evening, Hua Cheng.

[supremity]

[ tanhua comes around to sniff at orion again, commencing the "i'm not touching you" game that he's apparently determined to play. once more, hua cheng does not stop him, and instead leans his hip on the counter. ]

The "good" is questionable, Orion, considering it's a Sunday. But I'm done with your task. Should be seeing some more tips.

w3, monday

[guestservices]

I suppose the observatory of the school is alright.
... If you'd like, I can take you there.

[supremity]

by your leave.

week 3, monday

[guestservices]

[re: pick somewhere you want to go.
i've no hotel or murder questions for you currently, so it's merely a break for all of us.
i want to check things out, anyways, considering the new locations.]

man, leaving the hard choices to me huh
okay...let me just spin my wheel of choices here
rock wall? weird choice but y'know

[supremity]

you're the ones on the clock all the time.
but why not? i have experience in climbing mountains, what's

whatever a rock wall is.

week 3, monday

[guestservices]

[re: pick somewhere you want to go.
i've no hotel or murder questions for you currently, so it's merely a break for all of us.
i want to check things out, anyways, considering the new locations.]

They have a cute little ice cream shop at the school!
Have you had ice cream before? :3

[supremity]

i have not, though i know what it is.
shall we then? i'll bring tanhua.

week 3, monday

[guestservices]

[pick somewhere you want to go.
i've no hotel or murder questions for you currently, so it's merely a break for all of us.
i want to check things out, anyways, considering the new locations.]

I'm not picky on location.

[supremity]

[ I KNOW IT'S YOU JAN!! ]

flexible.
i suppose i should ask if you have interests that would take you to anywhere at the school, to narrow it down more.

week 3, sunday

[guestservices]

[hua cheng rings the bell and ..................... nothing happens.





or at least, that's what it seems like. in reality, they opened a portal near the ground on the other side of the desk and are crouched down under there, as if hoping hua cheng might think they didn't show up and will leave on his own.]

[supremity]

[ help this is so funny and about what i would have expected, yeah.




except hua cheng is accompanied by an animal that gets bored if not entertained, so he's sniffing around. while the ghost king leans on the counter, waiting and examining his nails, tanhua's nose appears around the corner... ]

w4, sunday

[guestservices]

[ orion just skips the formalities of the bell and appears in the courtyard! they're stiff postured as always, though, putting out a bit more presence than hua cheng is used to. ]

Ch - [ hghk ] Hua Chengzhu. [ better, ] How may I be of assistance?

[supremity]

[ this is fine. hua cheng is still miffed, nearly a week later, but he'll figure out how to set this entire place on fire and end every contract signed. ]

I have something for you. [ your tip, but also - he slides a stack of papers forward. a decent amount, perhaps a little over two dozen of them. the topmost one is a watercolor washed ink drawing of kazunari. ] I want to include these with every tombstone that gets one of our names. But since we don't know what will happen, with every week, I've done them now and I'm going to leave them in your care.

[ in case i die, is the obvious unsaid.

but when he looks through it, orion will find that there's 36 instead of 35.

there's an extra flayn, with more detail and attention paid to it. hua cheng just sips his own tea. ]

week 4, saturday

[guestservices]

[ well

orion will meet hua cheng in the opium den. they give a brief bow of their head. ]

Hua Chengzhu. Did you require assistance?

[supremity]

[ he points at one of the seats. ]

Sit. [ and he is loading up one of the hookahs with opium. hooray pain killer. ] I'm tired, in pain, and annoyed. You don't know how to switch off and relax, and one of the most stressful and personal trials happened. So, we're smoking.

[ tanhua comes around to stare up at orion with both eyes. whine. ]

week 5, wednesday

[guestservices]

[ you know, i was going to respond to your text, however, i realized orion is self sufficient and just shadow poofs right next to hua cheng's side in the realm in like .5 seconds.

he gives a little bow of his head. ]

Hua Chengzhu.

[ where are we you're the pc ]

[supremity]

[ tanhua immediately comes around to their personal staff member "that's not how it works" it is in their heads and nips at his sleeve. pet me. ]

I'm stealing you away from your main work for a bit. [ stealing him back, more like, but ok hc. ] I'll get this out of the way first - are you able to speak much on where the dead are, or better left to wait and see?

[ let's go for walkies. he's checking this place out. ]

week 5, wednesday pre-minievent

[guestservices]

[re: think i could get another paint set?
also, pick somewhere you'd like to go this week.]

[there's a lull in answers for a bit.]

sure
itd have to be the same as before
nothing huge
that ok?
i havent looked at the realm much
could start there?

[supremity]

[ y'all servicing a bunch of chucklefucks, alive and dead, he is in no rush. ]

i'm fine with that.
the first one worked well enough.
i could make some out of flower petals but that's time consuming.

i've done a little looking there, i wouldn't mind taking a closer look since apparently another me has been here.

week 5, wednesday

[guestservices]

[re: learn any new words?]

dickweasel !

[supremity]

oddly appropriate.
did you know there's a book in the library that lets you randomly select words to make up profanity?
it's split into two sides, and you can flip the pages to random words to combine into one word.
it might help you expand your vocabulary.

[ britt go get creative cursing from your library i want to know what combos you can make ]

week 5, saturday

[guestservices]

[ re: i was hoping that no one would try to lick the poison, so my apologies for mollymauk opting to. ]

i cant say i was surprised
sok we had a nice talk about it, so don't worry


also look, don't tell anyone, but
grats on getting away with it

[supremity]

i am adept at keeping secrets.
but thank you. i would have perhaps rethought it if i hadn't found him drinking kaeya's favorite wine.

week 5, saturday

[guestservices]

[re: i believe i owe you task for diluc's healing.]

Okay. Give three motivational speeches to people who seem down. They shouldn't be people from your previous session.

[supremity]

at least i'm used to receiving or hearing those from gege.
i will complete it regardless.

week 6, sunday

[guestservices]

[re: i couldn't send anything yesterday, but i've done my best to be "inspirational."]

Not the most ideal of circumstances for it, but yes, consider your task completed.

[supremity]

death can bring a lot of inspiration to people.
i don't mind this as much as other people might, anyways, especially since gege is safe.

week 6, sunday

[guestservices]

[ when hua cheng dozes off in the dream suite, he'll find himself standing in a blank, slightly fuzzy space, and...

orion is there. they dip their head in a bow, respectful, and then just... stay that way for a moment. their voice belays no emotion or anything when they do speak. ]

...This space is yours, so if you would like a drink, you need only dream of one... Chengzhu.

[supremity]

[ well.

in that case, hua cheng looks around in the fuzzy space, contemplative. orion is left to bow like that, but it's nothing new. and then it doesn't take much for red curtains to unfurl, black stone and lacquered wood to spread out, silver charms that ring like an absent melody on the wind to filter in.

a familiar study, a familiar office, a familiar desk. he moves to drop down on one of the lush pillows that pops up like a toadstool, lounging. ]

Home, then. A minor comfort for both of us.

Maybe I'll bring an opium pipe or hookah for weed in here. Might do you some good to keep it routine.

week 7, tuesday

[guestservices]

[re: care for a visit?]

see you in a bit

[when hua cheng falls asleep (probably after his conversation with virgo because i'm not sure if that's what you meant about tuesday, later, or if you just meant later tuesday in general), he will find himself waking up in the empty suite space. it's fuzzy and blank, but after a few moments he'll blink and find aquarius standing in front of him.

also if tanhua is on the dream bed and in the dream now they will reach for him. pets for foxes.]

How goes everything?

[supremity]

[ later in tuesday so yeah probably after the convo with virgo, which is just. feeding them, at souji's request, which doesn't bother him.

once the dream fizzles into place, hua cheng takes it in - second time around, for this, so he thinks for a moment and lets the reds of ghost city fill the space. no people, just them, to keep it from being static and dull.

tanhua yips, trotting immediately to aquarius and butting into their touch. ]

Not awful. There's a number of boxes I can check off about how this isn't the worst experience, regardless of that trial outcome. Dianxia is presumably safe, I've no issue with death or dying, especially as it spared Yoo Joonghyuk, and it's the last week before the end of the contract period so it's not as if I'll be here long.

Hopefully things aren't progressing terribly for the staff?

week 7, tuesday

[guestservices]

[hua cheng rings the bell, and virgo comes out of their room in the mansion.]

Yes...?

TEEHEE

[supremity]

[ tanhua sniffs at them, briefly, but does not yowl or scream or bark. instead, he just watches them with muted interest.

the same as hua cheng, although the ghost king holds out an interesting package. ]

Souji and I cooked yesterday, and he said to make sure that there was a serving for you. I also wanted to see how creative your profanity was becoming. Can't go running around halfassed about it.

[ checking on virgo, after having seen the videos that he did, with his suspicions that he has. anyways, whenever they open the banana leaf packaging... there's a one-person serving of a hmong dish called mov su - tada. it's sticky rice, an optional chili paste, and now-shredded chicken instead of it being a wholeass bird. ]

week 7, thurs

[shixiong]

[ this is the most embarrassing audience of all time

... yin yu is here, in the dream space, when hua cheng dozes off! he's got his mask on. wow. just like being home. ]

Chengzhu. How can I be of assistance?

[fishingforcompliments]

[flayn, who is only just appearing in the dreamscape and does not realize that hua cheng was trying to chaperone a date by falling asleep, is visibly confused.]

Hua Chengzhu? I do not understand... if you wished to speak, we could—

[and then she realizes they're not alone]

Yin Yu!

[




sorry hua cheng you are invisible for a second as she rushes at yin yu]

Are you alright? When I saw you come out of that portrait, I was so worried—