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

[avengeme]

[With one hand on his suitcase and his keys (which reveals the number 110 if you peer close enough but he's keeping his fingers clasped around it), Coulson stands outside the ballroom and peers in suspiciously. Is it Easter already?

He steps in, slowly, and reaches down to pick up one of the eggs. It... looks harmless enough but you can never be sure with these things.]

Never expected a kidnapping to come with festivities.

[thatimpossiblegirl]

[Hello. She'll just casually appear beside him.]

Well it isn't your average kidnapping, is it?

[She seems a bit cheerful for the circumstances, even as she takes a healthy step away from him and nods toward the egg he's in the process of picking up.]

I'd be careful with those, if I were you.

[Not that she hasn't amassed her own little collection, but she thinks it's only fair to warn him. Poor man doesn't know what he's gotten himself into yet, does he?]

[avengeme]

[if he isn't used to working with spies, he'd be a lot more surprised. As it is, he just regards her with a polite and slightly confused smile. He does see her collection, so he sees no reason to immediately drop the egg in his hand just yet]

Why's that?

[thatimpossiblegirl]

[She gives a little shrug as if to say, "suit yourself," bouncing slightly on the balls of her feet. She has quite a bit of energy, seeing as how she's been stuck here for two months without much to do.]

Oh, you know, consequences. [And then comes a declaration suited to someone who is completely in charge and knows exactly what she's talking about.] Rule 1: Never trust the hotel.

[avengeme]

[Coulson quirks his eyebrows at that. She definitely got him interested in grilling her for answers anyway]

What kind of consequences are we talking about here?

[thatimpossiblegirl]

[He really takes all the fun out of it, doesn't he? She's giving him quality advice here. So maybe she's being a bit cryptic. Is that such a bad thing?]

The kind where they explode. [...] It's always something.

[Like she said, never trust the hotel.]

[avengeme]

[It is totally a bad thing. He's usually the one who does this to other people. He frowns slightly as he tries to process what she could be referring to]

... you're telling me the eggs explode.

[hacker]

[ Two months.

Two months of pain and heartache and confusion. Two months of loss, panic, fear, and Coulson by her side for none of it. It stands to reason that when she hears him quipping about the eggs from across the lobby while she exits the dining hall, she pretty much drops everything.

A quick turn of her head and she pushes through anyone in her way, crossing the lobby to reach him quickly, throwing her arms around him and pulling him into a hug that doesn't bother with ridiculous things like protocol and permission. Her eyes get misty as she downright clings to him, fingers gripping the fabric of his suit jacket. ]

[avengeme]

[Coulson barely has time to react to her presence. He recognizes it's Skye so he's quick to welcome and return the hug. The way she's clinging to him worries him and he finds that he only wants to comfort her. Finding out what's going on can happen later.]

It's okay, Skye. It's okay.

[hacker]

[ It's not, and she's figured that out by now. Nothing about any of this is okay. It takes her a moment of keeping her face buried in his shoulder to bury how stark that fact appears in her expression. When she does finally draw back, palms clasping his shoulders, she's wearing a lopsided, easygoing smile. ]

You know, I think I would have preferred this reunion going the other way. Me coming out, not you getting dragged in. Unless this is the part where you tell me a team's been looking for us and you're here to evac.

[avengeme]

[He smiles back though he also looks mildly confused. He's doing his best to deduce everything that's going on here from her reaction alone but it's a little difficult]

Unfortunately, no. I just saw you a few hours ago.

[hacker]

[ Then, he'll be surprised to notice the way that her expression blanches, as if shorting out when she tries to process that. ]

... What? No. [ She shakes her head, collecting herself quickly after. ] That's impossible; Fitz and I have been stuck in here for two months.

[avengeme]

... The last time I saw you you were still in quarantine after the city collapsed.

[the gears in his mind are grinding, trying to work out all the possibilities. He believes her. Which just makes this all the more confusing.]

I need a debrief. Everything you know about this place.

[bettercallit]

[ After crossing paths with a suit already, Clint doesn't think much of another one floating around, and his attention is on the eggs, which apparently aren't as innocent as they appear to be, glitter or not.

But the voice that floats across does something to him, makes him stop, freeze up, because he knows that voice, would recognise it anywhere. He doesn't realise it, but he's been holding his breath; he knows that the timeline around the hotel is all over the place, people picked from before and after and during - it's enough to give anyone a headache. But he doesn't realise how much he wants it to work in his favour this time.

He gets his feet to move, turns around, and takes the few steps towards the suit. ]

Coulson?

[avengeme]

[Coulson takes note of Clint from the corner of his eyes and it's familiar enough that he finds himself turning his head to look in his direction just as his name is called. It's a definite confirmation of the other person's identity and almost immediately he has to squash the slight sense of guilt for keeping up the charade about him being dead. He smiles still, genuinely pleased to see him]

Agent Barton.

[bettercallit]

[ He's takes a step forward, closing the gap between them where the odd person wanders through, and offers a nod in a way of acknowledgement after giving him a quick once over.

Alive is a good look on him. ]

No offence, sir, but you're the last person I thought I'd see here.

[avengeme]

None taken. It's a bit of a long story actually.

But first thing's first, what is this place?

[he'll be happy to answer any other questions later]

[bettercallit]

[ He contains himself so they can deal with one mess at a time. ]

Welcome to the Hotel California, where the guests can check out, but never leave.
[ He offers a look, as if to ask 'What can you do?', to go along with the enthusiastic sarcasm. ] If it drives the point home, I've been here a month and, well, I'm still here.

[avengeme]

[Yeah that does drive the point home very neatly]

Great. I love confined spaces. [not really] Is anyone else here?

I'M SO LATE just lmk if you want to handwave instead!!

[technologist]

Coulson.

[ Fitz's usual flat inflection, but the surprise is evident in a slight lilt and the lift of his brows as he turns towards the familiar voice. He's got an egg in hand, but he definitely doesn't seem excited about that. Confused, mostly. It isn't a basket full of kangaroo jerky delivered to his room, but he still doesn't trust it.

The egg's briefly forgotten as he quickly moves over to join the Director, confusion shifting over to a new topic. ]

You're— [ A quick glance to that suitcase, which makes the next question mostly rhetorical. ] You've just arrived, yeah?

You're never late. And I love backtagging.

[avengeme]

[Coulson turns to face him. Lips twitching into a slight smile]

I did. Skye's filled me in on some things. You doing all right?

<33

[technologist]

Yeah.

[ He actually kind of means it. All things considered, they could be doing much, much worse. Fitz wonders whether or not Skye's debrief included an update on her powers or Ward's presence — definitely the latter, he's guessing. Instead of asking directly, he goes for a more vague approach. ]

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

[avengeme]

[Definitely the latter and not so much the former.]

It's been a couple days since the city collapsed. [the frown on his face deepens as he adds solemnly] Agent Triplett's dead. Raina's mutated, and Skye's still in quarantine. Mack's recovering. [his tone grows almost cold as he adds] As for HYDRA, they're being dealt with.

[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]