master of the house, quick to catch your eye (OPEN)

[checkingin]

Who: Everyone!
Where: The initial arrival rooms, the main lobby, all over the place.
When: April 5rd
What: Welcome, newbies + happy Easter eggs.

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 empty, ashy 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 the cabinet of dr. caligari 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 caramel corn and a large hot drink dispenser full of hot water, with a few cups and some old looking packages of hot chocolate mix.

BALLROOM.

the third set of grand doors have been thrown wide to reveal a brightly lit, festively decorated ball room. all across the polished wood floor, all over the tables and chairs around the edge of the room, under the curtains, in the corners, hiding in the shadows, and behind the doors, characters will find:

easter eggs.

plastic easter eggs filled with jellybeans and chocolates, real eggs dip dyed and rolled in glitter; foil wrapped chocolate eggs, sugar eggs with little diaramas in the middle. there will be novelty plastic easter bunny rings sprinkles about, and general little plastic childrens toys. there will be plastic and paper easter basket grass sprinkled all over, and upbeat ambiance music intended to excite.

by the front door will be basket for people to use in their quest to collect the hundreds of eggs scattered all over the room. a sign on the floor invites them to "take one" in curvy handwritted script.

but there's no sign to warn that — some of these eggs?

are going to explode in your face.

( event details. )

OTHER.

the ballroom is currently open, 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, food is currently being served. a lot of it is candy.

ROOMS.

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

EGGSISTING GUESTS.

happy easter, kids.

Comments

[technologist]

[ He doesn't flinch at that anger, but there's a flicker in his expression as he notes it, somewhere between concerned and curious.

He understands, of course. Trip's dead. And while not all of this is news, some of it is; the distinction between Raina's mutation and Skye, still just in quarantine, and the revelation that Mack's going to be okay. Some good and some bad, and some that means difficult choices — like whether or not he's meant to lie to Coulson.

One thing's easy to respond to, at least. HYDRA. ]

Good. [ He sounds like he means it, even if it lacks the same hard edges as Coulson's determination. ] Did Skye tell you about Ward?

[avengeme]

She did. And I ran into him myself. Still deciding if he's crazy enough to be behind all this.

[Ward has more than proven that he has his own agenda separate from HYDRA's]

[technologist]

No. I mean, yes to being crazy enough, but I don't think he'd be able to pull it off.

[ He's looking down as he says it, lost in thought. Ward's crazy, and Fitz isn't about to trust him, but there's manipulative and murderous and then there's understanding how to control dimensional rifts. ]

Unless the hating science thing was an act, as well. We could barely comprehend it when— um. [ A beat while he struggles with the word, then he snaps his fingers. ] Ford. On the Bus.

[avengeme]

[Coulson nods. He agrees at least.]

But HYDRA could. A massive inter-dimensional lab sounds like something that's right up their alley.

Any luck finding a source?

[technologist]

[ That gets a slight nod, too. He might not have bought it a year ago, but these days anything's possible. ]

Nothing yet. I think it might be something to do with the room we wake up in, but nobody's been able to get back to it after they've left it.

Have you found your room?

[avengeme]

Huh. Wonder if there's a way to communicate with new arrivals before they decide to leave that room.

[he looks down at the key in his hand: room 110] Not yet. Haven't looked in my case yet either.

[technologist]

Not that we've found. Would help if we could find the room, obviously.

[ Admittedly, that isn't an angle they've been aiming for yet. ]

The case will open with whatever code you put in, usually. [ A quick glance to those keys, and his expression brightens slightly. ] Cap's in one-eleven.

[avengeme]

If the arrivals happen monthly like they say, maybe we can wait at the lobby. See where that gets us.

[he nods at the others and, okay, he can't help but look a little excited at the prospect of staying next door to Steve Rogers. His eyes light up even as he manages to keep a somewhat straight face] I've heard he's here. Not that he's right next door to me.

[technologist]

He's incredible. [ Nerd alert. Except he says it more like an obvious, simple statement than anything else, tone a bit flat. ] And he's helped me and Skye. He knows we're SHIELD, and—

[ Oh, right. That. ] He knows about you.

[avengeme]

[hey, it's Captain America. Coulson more than understands the desire to spazz]

Yeah, I got the idea from Skye. He doesn't know every detail, does he?

[technologist]

[ ABOUT THAT... ]

He asked how.

[ So he knows a few details, though the science may or may not have gone over his head. ]

[avengeme]

[Oh. Well, that's awkward.]

He knows, huh?

[technologist]

Vaguely.

[ That's a bit sheepish, because it's probably less vaguely than Coulson would like. ]

He might still have a few questions.

[avengeme]

[he lets out a breath. He's not happy but, well, what's done is done]

Right. I'll handle it.

Is everything all right with Skye?

[technologist]

[ Shit. There's a slight delay, though it's easy to mistake as his usual difficulty with words. ]

Yeah. Yeah, everything's fine. Why?

[avengeme]

[it looks like it's slipping past Coulson at least]

It looks like something's bothering her. But it could just be this place.

[technologist]

Yeah. We've been here a while, so...

[ Just the two of them. And Rogers, of course, but it wasn't entirely the same as having the team here. ]

I'm glad you're here.

[avengeme]

I'll find us a way out of here. I promise.

[He's never been the type to believe in getting no for an answer.]

Wanna check out my room with me? And see what's in the bag?

[technologist]

Yeah. [ YEAH COOL DAD. Err, director. ?? ] Skye and I got toys in ours. A shield and a sword.

[ Less excited about that second part. He's not sure what to make of it, other than the fact that it's a little on the nose. ]

[avengeme]

[dad is totally acceptable. Coulson takes another look around then picks a thankfully correct direction to walk down in]

Interesting choices. Is that all you got in there?

[technologist]

I got a tac suit. And a small engineering kit, but it's... well, it's screwdrivers. Basically.

[ Nothing too advanced, unfortunately. Fitz follows, easily falling into old routines. ]

[avengeme]

Let me guess. There are no vents or the vents don't lead anywhere.

[he's starting to get the hang of how this place works at least]

I LEFT ON A TRIP SORRY

[technologist]

We can't even get into the vents. Or open the windows, or any doors out.

[ People with superpowers included. On which note: ]

There are people with magic, and they're just as— [ Language. ] Stumped as the rest of us.

it's all good!

[avengeme]

[that gets his attention at least. He turns to glance at Fitz as they reach room 110. He slides the key in but doesn't open it just yet.]

Because their magic doesn't work or something else?

[technologist]

Something else. The Evil Queen said it was sort of— dampened.

[ ThE EVIL QUEEN. Said very casually. ]