sit yourself down, and meet the best inn keeper in town ( O P E N )

[checkingin]

Who: Everyone!
Where: The initial arrival rooms, the main lobby, all over the place.
When: February 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.

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 tall pull-down screen, a silent version of nosferatu 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 timey music.

along the curtained windows is another long table, with a large bowl that looked like it once would have held popcorn. but is now unfortunately empty. same for the large hot drink dispensers labeled "hot chocolate" and "coffee".

OTHER.

the ballroom and breakfast hall are currently closed, grand doors locked.

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

the door to the courtyard is locked.

ROOMS.

you've a room key with your assigned room number on it. all the new guest residences will be located on floors one & 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'd 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.

Comments

[dislocked]

[ IMAX? What's IMAX?

The young woman who comes in seems entirely at ease with the entire thing, and Bucky cannot help but be aware of her presence. She presents little threat, and might not be out to kill him -- but one can't be too careful.

He's silent at her words, unable to help but muse on how half the things she says is incomprehensible to him; they didn't teach you how to deal with generation gaps in HYDRA, and this is starting to feel like some sort of chasm. The soldier contemplates her words, then. ]

I've had worse. [ He pauses. ] Who are you? [ Does she know him? Is she another one that he's forgotten? ]

[taurohtar]

[She listens intently to his explanation and nods, absorbing that information, but the frown on her face doesn't dissipate, for she is still missing key points she feels are vital for true understanding.]

But how do the pictures move?

[His elaboration on the creature the movie is about has her wrinkling her nose. He looks like a goblin, or a small, stunted orc, and she has spent far too much time killing those things to want to do anything more than continue. The woman swooning about on screen bears the full brunt of Tauriel's disapproving frown for a moment, before she turns back to the man at her side.]

Why don't they kill it, then, and burn its body?

[dislocked]

[ Oh.

Bucky thinks hard on that for a moment, then. ] It's an advanced invention. [ He knew how it worked, once upon a time; now, the specifics of it is burned out of his memory.

Bucky watches her reaction to the women, to the creature, the monster that terrorizes them, and he thinks that she's got the right idea over there. ] If that happened, the movie would be over in ten minutes.

[ He regards her, the back of his mind flickering with curiosity. ] I take it you're not from here.

[taurohtar]

Oh. [That makes sense, of course, but she's never seen anything like it before, and now she's curious about how it functions, and who it was that created it, and for what purpose. Surely not simply for entertainment...] I see. [She doesn't, really, but she decides to let the subject drop for the moment.

His eyes on her are a heavy weight she turns to acknowledge after another moment of frowning at the screen, and she doesn't look the slightest bit embarrassed or sheepish about her apparently ruthless tendencies.] It seems, by far, the simplest solution to me.

[Why wouldn't they kill and burn the creature? Nothing that feeds on blood like that should be suffered to live.]

I would have assumed none of us are from here, truthfully.

[64th]

If Gloss is lost I will kill him. [ she's kidding. but he's going to be in big trouble. she sets her jaw and tries not to let the grown dread in her chest settle in there. they're going to find the boys. ] Or he can have a pass this once. But I'm going to yell at both of them.

[ she nods to Annie. ] I looked, but we can look again. I couldn't find the room I showed up in again. Maybe the halls move. They do that in the arena all the time. Should we map it? [ Cashmere looks back at the mess she's made. ] We've got to have paper.

[ another glance to Annie. she frowns. ] Do you want to wear some of my clothes? [ sorry, Annie. Cashmere's a little scattered right now. ]

[64th]

[ she nods. ] It's the highest rated show of the year. And if you win, you're a star. You never have to worry about anything ever again.

That's what they tell us, anyway. The fine print is a little different.

[64th]

There's no need to be so modest. You're one of us. Capitol favorites. [ if he's lucky, he'll never have to worry about what that fully entails. being in the arena two years in a row isn't exactly lucky, though.

then he mentions Gloss. she keeps her plastered on smile but he's hit on a weak spot and that shows in her eyes. ] No. I didn't find him. I'm still looking. It's you, me, Annie, and Johanna. [ and Katniss apparently but who cares about Katniss.] Why? Did you see him?

[engender]

It's a reality show?

[ Sick idea for one, and there are some sick ones out there. ]

The contract holds even after you win.

[starspangled]

She was an actress.

[Steve moves, hesitant, and perches on the very edge of the seat at the end of the row. Everything about his posture says that he expects Bucky to bolt at any second. And he's not sure what he would do about it.]

She had great legs. You used to talk about them for days. I drew a picture of her for you once.

[And there's a bittersweet moment where it might as well have been a scene from the past playing up on that screen: It was a summer day, and there was a light breeze that kept fluttering the page of his sketchpad. Bucky's hair. Monochrome, just the way he remembers.]

[hacker]

[ While he speaks, she tries to pull at the locked doors, yanking with all her strength, shaking them against their locks with mounting frustration until finally she kicks out at one, throwing her hands up and backing off.

He's not innocent. Not some innocuous clerk. Skye rounds on him, hands gesturing out wildly. ]

I don't care what the weather's like, and I don't want to watch your movie. What I want is out of this damn hotel. Unlock the doors.

[hacker]

Spoken like someone who really doesn't have a better idea.

[ The jab comes sharply as she wheels around to look at Harley, sizing her up. Ok. Creepy. ]

What, are you entertainment or something?

[sheriffing]

[Peaceful conversation has a way of getting ripped out from under them, it's just done so quickly that Emma barely has time to process it. One second she's given word that Regina is in the hotel with them (great), the next Neal's knocked back a few steps and Killian's voice registers just before he moves forward to show himself. Anger flashes in her eyes and she reaches for the pirate, but he catches his own mistake before she can demand he release him.] Killian, what the hell. [That makes four of them, probably all arriving in separate rooms, possibly not arriving in the same moment, either.

Although the two-handed captain seems to be from the same time and place she's from, which helps. They might not all be on the same page, but Neal being around so that they can catch him up with what's going on back in Storybrooke is a good thing. It's also, given the current situation, something that's going to have to wait. Their priority is going to have to be tracking down anyone from Storybrooke and searching for a way out. Once they manage that, then they can worry about the problems they left behind.

He's alive here. Emma's still questioning how it's possible, but Killian's anger and immediate confusion pull her away from that for the moment. Being around to witness way his expression shifts once he gets a look at Neal is at confirmation, at least. She's not seeing things if he's seeing them, too. Neal's here, alive, and a little more irritated than he was a few moments ago.] We don't know, but I'm not too worried about figuring it out.

[She doesn't need to know how he's alive, just that he is. Questioning this is only going to make them regret it, and Emma isn't willing to go there now. They just got him back, that's enough for now - more than, if they get to leave like this.]

What about you, are you alright?

[hacker]

Skye.

[ She doesn't recognize him, not in the dark, not at first glance. Bucky Barnes doesn't look like the illustrious museum portraits would lead gushing young girls to believe. Not anymore. Moving further into the room at what she takes as an invitation from him, she leans her arms over one of the chairs, shoulders hunching. Not quite comfortable enough to sit down. ]

Personally, I'm withholding judgment on "worse" until I find out whose fault this is. I still haven't found anyone with a clue what's going on. You?

[hacker]

[ Unsure of how to even contextualize that, Skye furrows her brow, searching around with a steadily discomfited expression. ]

Uh ... Earth?

[hacker]

Or wonder if maybe you didn't learn this kind of thing, and you were banking on looking cool.

[ Her lips purse, unimpressed, and she arches her eyebrows like homie is this a pride thing 'cause uhhhhhhhh. ]

You don't have to blame operator error on a weird door, okay.

[64th]

Yeah. [ there's more to it, but that's gist of it. ]

There's no contracts. It's the law. Two kids from every district, every year, to remind us that that we'll never be them. So they film it and bet on us. If you're smart, you train your kids.

[villainously]

[ well that's just a limited way of looking at things, but he's heard it before. many people in the Enchanted Forest didn't realize there was a world outside the one they were living in. hell, a lot of them didn't even realize there were different lands in the same world as theirs. it's not an attitude he hasn't seen before...

only it's a little absurd now that they've all been cursed to a land completely separate from their own. he's starting to wonder about this girl, and the fact she refers to snow as a he doesn't help. ]

I highly doubt Snow is responsible for this, and I don't know why she'd be aiming at you in the first place. [ he has no idea who she is, but if she thinks Snow White is a vindictive creature, she's thinking of someone else. ]

LOBBY TIMES

[cisskabob]

[Cissie spent quite a bit of time doing just what Kirk is doing, rattling doors and banging on windows and generally exhausting herself. Now she's taken to sitting in a chair out of the way of things, watching everyone else and hoping she sees someone she knows. No luck on that, so far.

She does spot Kirk and watches him battling with a nearby window for a minute before taking pity and speaking up.]

If you find one that actually opens, I think you'll be everyone's hero.

[64th]

[ is this a truce? this place is fucking weird. ]

How are you here? [ but she's going to answer the other question anyway. ] The arena. You ran off with Blight. We were at the cornucopia. I was getting the supplies. And then I was here.

[sheriffing]

I'd rather know he's home than worry about him being here.

[Her parents are perfectly capable of keeping Henry safe. In this world, without their magic and knowing how much of it had to have been used to get them here, Emma isn't sure she and Regina would have been able to protect him. The kid's been through enough because of them.

This time, she'd rather know he gets to sit out than to have him beside her - especially when they still don't have the slightest clue as to what they're dealing with.]

Then we'll have to make our own way out.

[They'll figure it out, they just need some time to see how this place operates. Maybe their magic isn't even gone, just blocked.

It wouldn't be the first time.]

[ROOMS]

[cisskabob]

[It takes a while, but Cissie finally gives up on finding a door or a window that will open, and goes in search of her "room." She's not ready to accept that they're all actually stuck here for... long enough to need a suitcase and a room. But there's only so much complete denial she can participate in, so she heads up to the second floor and finds her room.

She spends some time looking through the suitcase (she definitely did not pack this thing) and exploring the room, but she's too worked up and restless to hide out alone. It might have been frustrating down in the lobby, watching everyone panic, but at least she felt a little less alone--everyone else was in the same boat she was in. So Cissie decides to see what kind of "neighbors" she's going to be living with.... hopefully for a very short period of time. It can't hurt to get to know some of these people... Hopefully.

She starts with the room next door, unsure if anyone's even in there yet. She knocks and calls out,] Hello?

[64th]

[she rolls her eyes. smart ass.] How they knew exactly what I would want?

Is the combination to your suitcase important?

ROOMS

[villainously]

[ right, well. finding his freedom is likely not as easy as opening every door he comes to. and yet the pirate has been trying them all anyway. you know, he is a pirate, this is sort of his forte. plenty are locked, some are empty, none so far have contained any viable escape. just more beds and more dull carpet and nothing in particular helpful.

this would be the first room he opens and finds is quite far from empty. he's ... not as shamed by this fact as he ought to have been, honestly. aren't all of them trying to find their way out of this place? he's not popping in to rob her, he's just hoping for answers that seem to be in very short supply. ]

Pardon the interruption. Was just hoping for something else beyond this door. [ he frowns at the room, before glancing at her. she looks like something that fell from the Enchanted Forest, which is ... well, an odd look. he isn't currently dressed in his normal pirate fare, but usually he's the one sticking out like a sore thumb. ] Are you from the forest? [ he means the Enchanted Forest. someone from Storybrooke would know that. the woman he's speaking to, well, not likely to.]

[1_truth]

I don't know, maybe they stalked you for a while first.

As for mine, I haven't really looked inside it yet but based on the weight I'd say it's just clothes and books. Hopefully, my Sherlock Holmes collection.

screening room

[sheriffing]

[Creepy hotel, creepy screening room, creepy movie. Emma announces her presence the second she walks in, both to keep from scaring the girl and to offer her own agreement.]

They're really going out of their way to set the tone around here.

[That tells them something, doesn't it? Emma's eyes leave the screen and she sighs, leaning back against the wall with an quick but irritated look around.]

Makes me wonder why they're trying so hard.