I USED TO DREAM THAT I WOULD MEET A PRINCE

[checkingin]

Who: Everyone!
Where: The initial arrival rooms, the main lobby, all over the place.
When: May 7th
What: Feed me, Seymour

ARRIVAL.

you wake up when you hit the floor in a dark room, and the air is knocked out of your lungs. the carpet is threadbare, worn with use, kind of dusty. and you're not the first person to endure this crash landing. nor will you be the last.

once your vision rights itself, you can see the well-lit hallway through the doorjam straight ahead of you. not to say there’s monsters in the shadows, but something propels you towards that door and out into the bright hallway beyond.

and once outside your room, you can hear it: the steady thrum of rain outside.

MAIN LOBBY.

there's a staircase at the end of the lengthy hallway you tumble out of. grab your suitcase and follow the dull green exit signs on the ceiling until you reach the disappointingly bland stairs that lead you down to the ornate old fashion hotel lobby.

to your left is an richly crackling, rather excessively smoking fireplace, to your right is a lobby desk. straight ahead are three large sets of doors, all three of them thrown wide open and welcoming. and outside the few (curtained, permanently dark) windows is the continually steady hiss of rain. once you leave the hallway you wake up in, you won't be able to return.

welcome to the hotel.

FRONT DESK.

though there is a bell and a plaque designating the desk to be the main desk, the customer service desk, there are currently no staff members behind it. none shall answer your calls, either. there is, however, a pad of paper and a pen neatly aligned with the desk edge. you know. for notes.

terribly sorry for the inconvenience.

SCREENING ROOM.

on a long pull-down screen, a silent version of alice in wonderland will be playing on loop. at the back of the room, between the neat rows of fold out chairs, mounted on a wobbly table is the old-timey projector, and mounted on the walls are some rather old speakers that warble out "terrifying" old music.

along the curtained windows is another long table, with a large bowl of chipotle cheese popcorn corn and a large hot drink dispenser full of hot water, with a few cups and some old looking packages of apple cider mix.

DINING HALL.

is tragically, painfully empty.

OTHER.

the ballroom is currently open, and the grand doors unlocked.

there is no main door leading to the outside, good luck trying to find one.

the doors to the courtyard are unlocked.

ROOMS.

you've a room key with your assigned room number on it. all the new guest residences will be located on floors one and two. while there is an open elevator in the main lobby, and the buttons light up inside, the doors will not close. all in all, you'll be better off taking the stairs.

while they're the same stairs you undoubtedly came down to get to the lobby, the door to the endless hall everyone woke up in will not reappear between the main floor and the subsequent residential halls.

there are twenty rooms per floor. feel free to get to know your surroundings; or your neighbors as they trickle in around you.

EXISTING GUESTS.

are you dreaming of omlettes and regretting complaining about the constant pancakes and weak ass coffee yet?

Comments

[dislocked]

[ Her S.O, that makes sense. She's reflecting him, too, and he notes the familiarity, the pride that she takes in her. May is protective, and Bucky instinctively understands the sentiment, even if the words are kept deliberately simple.

People like them, they don't need complicated. ]

Yes. [ And something about her had compelled him to look out for her, to make sure that she stays safe, even within the confines of this hotel and its innumerable tricks. Bucky keeps it simple, too; the fact that she's still alive after the encounter really should speak for itself. ]

She believes in what SHIELD is selling.

[busdriver]

[Phrasing it that way, what SHIELD is selling, could get under someone's skin. It doesn't bother May. Denial and naivety isn't the way to combat the reputation they've earned and the associations SHIELD has. Skye used to be a skeptic, and now, well, it wouldn't surprise May if she was a louder advocate because of it, especially in a place like this. May won't even try to match Skye for sincerity or enthusiasm. What she says ends up sounding like a correction, dispassionate yet immovable.]

She believes in the principle SHIELD was founded on.

[Skye and May both do, and Barnes hasn't given her a reason to think that he doesn't. After the secrecy and the procedure and the command structure, it boils down to something too basic.]

[avengeme]

Remind me to introduce you to Skye and Fitz. I think they'd be happy to meet you in person.

whoops, lost the notif. >.<

[una_persson]

"Rude. And neglectful. How gauche." It's not a particularly good joke. "I'm Una, by the way. Late of Earth, late twentieth century."

[dislocked]

[ Bucky doesn't have a reason why he should, but he's beginning to get an idea of the people who are running it now, decent, honest people who don't even know how to lie to save their lives. Skye, Fitz -- there are certain aspects of SHIELD not yet consumed by HYDRA, but Bucky's estimation of SHIELD's survival are not high.

He's been wrong, of course. ]

She talks about it often.

[ About how they could help him, how they helped her. ] I understand you have a rogue agent on your hands here.

[skaikru]

( well.

she gets what he's doing, taking a piece for himself and nibbling it pointedly. it's rather transparent manipulation, but clarke is just hungry enough to bite. what little tension she'd had the energy to hold in her shoulders melts and she sighs.

yes she wants it. but — )

May I take one for my friend?

[vdova]

Fun? [ She says the word with a lot of incredulity. Fun is not the first word that would come to mind when it comes to starvation, but then again, her idea of fun isn't cruelty. Even when she was being cruel. ]

I tried to scale the wall outside, but even if it wasn't raining, the stone has nothing to grab on to. They've planned this thoroughly.

[ She sets her chin, glancing away in thought. ] But bringing all of us together, that is a mistake. So why?

[vdova]

Part of your team, right? I've heard a little about them.

[avengeme]

Skye's the tech wiz. Fitz is the rocket scientist. They're young but brilliant.

[which may not be uncommon for SHIELD recruits but still, they're his young and brilliant team. And if his warm smile is any indication, they're as close to family as it gets]

[vdova]

You always had an eye for the good ones.

[lifewithoutrest]

[It's wise to be skeptical, especially given the nature of the hotel. She expects it's only a matter of time before someone decides to start making waves. This many people crammed together in a place that seems to specialize in making their lives hell? Not everyone is going to get along.]

It's a pleasure. [As to that second bit,] I can see that.

A recent arrival, I take it?

[A question with an obvious answer, perhaps, but she's being polite.]

[avengeme]

What can I say? Working for Fury has its perks.

[and he knows Natasha, like him, knows that better than most as well.]

That and coming back from death.

[dislocked]

[ Her idea of fun isn't cruelty, but then again, Natasha isn't HYDRA. The points she raises is valid, a fresh perspective into the ones Bucky's worn through, over and over in the course of being in here. ]

Because they don't think we're a threat, even together. [ with good reason: control the food source, and you control them. His throat tightens with anger. ] I'm sure you know that they are, at this point, not wrong. For now.