a gent of good intent who's content to be ( OPEN )

[checkingin]

Who: Everyone!
Where: The initial arrival rooms, the main lobby, all over the place.
When: March 3rd
What: Welcome, newbies.

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 a warmly crackling fireplace, to your right is a lobby desk. straight ahead are three large sets of doors, though only one of them is open to the public. 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.

terribly sorry for the inconvenience.

SCREENING ROOM.

on a long pull-down screen, a silent version of the phantom carriage 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 popcorn and a large hot drink dispenser full of hot water, but without any tea or hot chocolate packets around.

OTHER.

the ballroom is currently closed, and the grand doors locked.

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

the doors to the courtyard and breakfast hall are unlocked, but looks like you've missed the morning meal. sucks for you.

ROOMS.

you've a room key with your assigned room number on it. all the new guest residences will be located on floors three and four. 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.

it's late when the newcomers arrive, there's a good chance you'd been about to go to sleep (or just waking up, who knows, your mom's not here to tell you when to go to bed or get up). but if you're paying attention, you might hear the hustle and bustle in the lobby below; or maybe you're just drawn there because your gut told you to go join the commotion. whatever the case may be, go mingle!

Comments

[kirking]

screening room

[This is Jim Kirk. He's a handsome fellow, smart looking, wearing some cool space age clothes that clash horribly with his hair. He's been at the hotel for about a month now, and tried every little thing he can think of to get out and failed so horribly that he's what only be described as pouting. He's moved around some of the chairs so that he can sit with his feet propped up to watch the movie. Distract himself. Old Earth things are cool, alright, they don't make it like these anymore and trying to figure out what the hell is going on is kind of fun.

Oh-- did you want any of that popcorn? That's nice. The bowl is sitting in Kirk's lap and he's definitely going to eat the whole thing if no one stops him.]

[logistical]

[ This is, in fact, the third place he'd think to look for Kirk. (the first was the mess hall, the second wherever his quarters were.) Colour him mildly surprised to actually find Kirk fitting into his deductive reasoning, less so that he's acting like he owns the place. ]

Jim?

[kirking]

[Fuck, damnit Spock.

Kirk had just popped some popcorn into his mouth when Spock spoke and if he ever wanted to see his captain nearly choke on earth food-- here's his chance. Gives him the chance to pull his shit together a little, set the popcorn aside and jump to his feet.]

What are you-- holy shit. I've never been so relieved to see you in my life.

[Time to go home, right Spock? Bring JT home.]

[logistical]

[ it's not the worst thing he's seen you do bro B( Spock just waits for him to finish, hands clasped behind his back, looking for all the world as though they've never left the ship. ]

I am conducting a survey of our surroundings.

[ because he's just going to casually ignore you saying you missed him again, what are feels :c ]

As of yet I can only definitely confirm that the perpetrators are familiar with Earth architecture and history. What of the integrity of the Prime Directive, Captain?

[kirking]

[That earns him a stare from Kirk for a few seconds, maybe ten and his mouth falls open a little bit too before he pulls it together.]

You're not here on a rescue mission, are you?

[Which just means that Spock has been grabbed too.]

the "we've been here through hell, newbies, nobody else deserves the popcorn" club

[pajarita]

[it's nice to be able to stretch her limbs after weeks of being cramped up in the most socially awkward situation every, and that's the reason raven bolts out of her room the very moment it looks like the nest of blankets will no longer be needed. the reasons for why the thermostat went back to normal for everyone, when there was definitely no staff member coming in to fix it is pretty much a given now: magic. spooky magic. or, strange science.

she's not sure if she can pinpoint it yet, but she's keeping mental lists of all possibilities. the point is, she leaves her room at the same time her temporary roomies do, and goes back downstairs to explore.

it's pure coincidence that she ends up in the projection room, and since she'd seen no sferatu.]

They changed the roll. [probably while everyone was out of it with slow developping hypothermia?

hold on a minute there.] Is that popcorn?

p much yeah

[kirking]

It's just as ridiculous and strange don't worry about it.

[But seriously girlfriend, come sit with Kirk and watch it and give it their own commentary. He even holds out the bowl of popcorn for her to grab a handful.]

It's pretty much our lucky day.

[pajarita]

I don't know what I'd call lucky... [but you know who's lucky? kirk. because there's a free seat next to him and she's got little better to do right now, so yes. yes, she will sit down next to him and watch a movie in a foreign language and gorge on popcorn which she has never ever tried before.]

Is it good popcorn, or is it stale and full of our regrets? Because I want to know what I'm basing my first opinion on.

[kirking]

I dunno, I like it from replicators.

[And that might not make sense to her but replicator food in general is just crappier. The less good version of pretty much everything. Kirk is a weirdo, he likes the taste of replicator food. It's one of the few things he doesn't bitch about.]

It's lacking regrets, I think. I'm not regretting eating half of it.

[hacker]

Sweet, thanks. I missed breakfast.

[ Swanning into the screening room, Skye leans over the back of Kirk's chair and reaches past him to dig some popcorn out of the bowl. Overly familiar is kind of the name of the game with her, so she doesn't much concern herself with his personal space as she pops some kernels into her mouth and turns her attention up to the screen, apparently comfortable to just lean over his chair rather than take her own. ]

This is new.

[kirking]

[Please, use him as a chair. He might be trying to sneak a peek down her shirt.]

I think it's about why drinking is bad for you.

[hacker]

Kind of a wasted audience. It's not like we've got a whole lotta booze on our hands to start with.

[ Her tone is casual enough that she doesn't seem to care whether he's being serious about that interpretation or not. ]

One of these days, they've gotta give us something decent, right?

[kirking]

[The world will never know if he was serious or not about it.]

A decent movie or decent booze?

[sheriffing]

[Old Earth things are creepy, particularly in a hotel that seem to have a mind of it's own. Still, Emma's happy to brave the pouting space captain for a handful of popcorn that she takes before she even acknowledges Kirk, claiming a seat and sparing a glance at the screen before she shovels half of that handful into her mouth.

Stealing popcorn's kind of a thing with her, he might want to watch out.]

Rough day?

[That's basically every day in this place, but he wasn't making that face the last time she ran into him.]

[kirking]

[Turns out: still weird to see Emma. A month in the same place doesn't make it less weird that she looks exactly like his mom, even if it is pretty obvious that she's not his mother.

Kirk is obviously an adult and throws a piece of popcorn at her for stealing without asking even though he's basically just commandeered the entire bowl.]

Is that a rhetorical question?

[Last he checked, they're still stuck and that still frustrates the fuck out of him.]

[sheriffing]

Actually, that was to you.

[Don't waste the popcorn, Kirk. Emma rolls her eyes at the piece that lands in her hair, picking that out and letting it fall to the floor.

What's frustrating is being stuck here for a month and having a kid to get home to. She spends most of her time thinking about Henry and what she might be missing, but then she reminds herself that time works differently here.

Maybe he doesn't know about any of this; the timelines are all screwed up. That'd work out better for Henry than him losing both of his mothers for months at a time.]

[kirking]

[He knows the timelines are all screwed up but he's not convinced that time works differently here. He would need scientific proof of it. It feels the same here, time does anyway. Twenty four hours a day, sixty minutes in an hour. And that's an experiment he hasn't set up yet because of aforementioned pouting.]

I'm fine. Bored out of my mind but hey. There's free popcorn.

[cisskabob]

[Finding the screening room door open is interesting, but a new movie is even more so. Cissie really can't help going in and checking things out. Spotting Kirk, she rolls her eyes but comes to sit next to him, stealing a handful of popcorn.]

You know it's rude to put your feet on other people's seats. And to hog the popcorn. Aren't there movie theaters in space?

[kirking]

[Kirk smirks in her direction, and pops a handful of popcorn into his mouth about as obnoxiously as he can manage it.]

Finder's keepers. And it's rude to steal instead of ask to share.

[cisskabob]

[Cissie takes a piece of popcorn and throws it at him, aiming for between the eyes.]

Is it really stealing if the stolen property was stolen to begin with? Maybe it's more like Robin Hood. Also you didn't say if they have movie theaters in space and now I feel like I need to know this.

[kirking]

It's not stolen if it's just sitting there for the taking.

[Because he's a child, he picks up his own handful of popcorn to throw back at her.]

Where in space? At a space station? On another planet? My starship?

[engender]

[ The screening room isn't the first place Derek goes, and truth be told, after the first day he doesn't duck inside much (maybe once or twice a day to see if, yep, it's still playing Nosferatu), but Derek knows that with new arrivals comes a new set of circumstances. Whether they be the thermostat's temperature rise, or - yep, another film. In the doorway, he crosses his arms. Kirk, he hadn't met yet. He may've talked to him. He only knows some by name - text is a wondrous thing. ]

Did it change today?

[kirking]

No idea.

[Kirk says around a mouthful of popcorn. So that's kinda gross. He chews and swallows before continuing though!]

If it happened today, I mean. I haven't been in here in weeks. Popcorn?

[engender]

[ ... A shrug as he moves to take a seat beside him. When in Rome? He takes a small handful, watching the silent film. ]

Some time today. [ That confirms it. ] It loops?

[kirking]

I haven't been here long enough to see the whole thing. But if it's like the last one, I'm sure it will and we'll all be sick of it next week.