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

[usedtoit]

[ Don't you dare give her that look Oliver, you're the one running around the hotel half naked. You're also the one who runs around the city at night in a mask and leather pants so she doesn't want to hear it. ]

Were there not any in your suitcase? Or did you wake up and immediately start damaging the hotel without checking?

[ Staring pointedly at the curtains he'd been messing around with. ]

[greenarrowed]

I looked.

[And that's all he has to say on the matter. Oliver finally gets this particular curtain and rod down from over the window and all he really wanted was the rod inside and so the curtains get left on the ground.]

I'm using the resources available to us to arm us.

[yes, he said us. Yes he means it. He's seen her fight, he know he needs her.]

[usedtoit]

[ She just rolls her eyes at him and watches him destroy what she imagines is private property. But she perks visibly at his words, her smiling starting to grow. ]

You're better at that then I am, then.

[ Because she completely wrecked her room looking for something to use as a weapon and found literally nothing. ]

Spock said there's butter knives in the dining room. I figured those would be better than nothing.

[greenarrowed]

[She doesn't have the training he does. Or the years on an island foraging for supplies.]

You should've grab the spoons too.

[usedtoit]

Spoons? [ She looks a little disbelieving, really. ] Can spoons really do that much damage?

[greenarrowed]

[All she's getting is a smile and a raise of his eyebrows and that's it.]

You have a room here too, I'm assuming?

[usedtoit]

[ Ugh whatever, only weirdos would know that anyway. ]

Yeah. 312.

[greenarrowed]

[He's stayed alive this long because know stuff like that.]

I've got what I need for now. We should go back there.

[usedtoit]

[ Thea slides her hands into her back pockets, rocks on her heels a bit. ]

It's a mess.

[greenarrowed]

We do live together.

[A mess isn't going to phase him plus he wants your blinds too, Thea. Do you want a bow or not?]

[usedtoit]

Yeah, but I don't ransack my own house looking for weapons like I did with my room.

[ By mess, she means that the bed isn't even completely put together anymore. ]

[greenarrowed]

[He does smile a little bit at that, like he's so proud that was her first thought. And maybe a little sad because she's growing up, she's so much different then the girl he knew before the island and after he got back. It's not a bad thing but it's harder to protect her.]

I'm guessing Malcolm didn't teach you how to make your own then.

[usedtoit]

[ She smiles back, all but beams, really, because she likes doing things that people are proud of, especially when it happens to be her brother. ]

I guess he forgot that part.

[ She starts heading towards the staircase, expecting him to be right behind her. It doesn't matter that Malcolm never taught her how to make weapons out of various hotel items — now Oliver can teach her. ]

[greenarrowed]

[That is some real brother/sister bonding.

He's right behind her, and wow she was not kidding about tearing about her room. He's almost impressed.]

What's the last thing you remember? From home?

[usedtoit]

[ Thea's leaning against the wall beside the bedframe (because the mattress and the box springs aren't exactly on it anymore), her hands folded neatly behind her. ]

We just got back from Lian Yu.

[ She tilts her head towards him quizzically. ]

Why?

[greenarrowed]

[He looks at her sharply, because her answer surprises him.]

We haven't left for that yet. I thought Malcolm brought us here instead.

[usedtoit]

[ Her brows arch, expression flicking to something skeptical and concerned. ]

No, we definitely went. Malcolm released Slade from your island prison and sent him after us. You told me-- [ Her voice breaks here, and her expression falters, but she continues anyway. ] about Sara. How do you not remember that?

[greenarrowed]

[Oh shit.

There's a flicker of fear and confusion across his face before he can stop it. He never meant to tell her about that, because he didn't want to burden her with the knowledge. He wants to keep her as innocent as he can, wants to shield her from the true horrors of the world.]

Thea... I'm sorry.

[usedtoit]

[ She frowns at him, glancing down for a moment. The pain is still fresh, knowing that she's the one who killed Sara. Even if, logically, she knows it's not her fault, she's still weighed down by guilt and sadness and anger. ]

It's fine. [ She shrugs, shaking her head as she looks up. ] We um. We already talked about it. I'm fine.

[greenarrowed]

[It's not fine. But part of the reason Oliver keeps his secrets and his silence is that he doesn't like to relive things, the pain is too much for him to handle, and he needs to be able to put it aside if he's going to function.

So when Thea offers him a way out of it: he takes it.]

Okay.

[usedtoit]

[ Then she's putting a smile back on her face, because it's easier, and she wants to move on from this. She doesn't want to think about Sara. She pulls a hand out from behind her, gestures a bit to him and her room. ]

Show me how to make a bow out of hotel parts.