WEEKEND ZERO: MINGLE PT2

[guestservices]

W̴͍̎E̴̝̊E̸͚͝K̸͕̿ ZERO: MINGLE

(35 ḡ̴̻u̷͌͜ê̴̯s̶̢͑t̵̻͝s̴̡̐ ̴c̴h̴e̶c̴k̷e̶d̸ ̶i̴n̴)

Needless to say, marble isn't exactly the most comfortable surface to sleep on. Do you even remember falling asleep? Maybe not, but the moment your eyes flutter open and the lingering stardust fades, you come into consciousness with the distinct feeling that your dreams were very important.

You vaguely remember a shadowed hand, the pen and the scroll in its grip as the terms and conditions glow softly before you. You can't quite remember the details, the words blurring and fading fasting the longer you try, but you come to a conclusion rather quickly:

-Someone you care about is in trouble and their life is now your responsibility.
-You have signed a contract to provide entertainment to the Host in exchange for their safe return.

Your other memories begin to settle now that you're more awake. You remember that this isn't the first time you've been swept away for a game by someone else's design. You remember what those games entailed, too, but as the pieces click together you get the sense that murdering everyone around you isn't a solution. It won't get your hostage back sooner. It will only end tragically for everyone involved.

So instead, perhaps it's time to take in your surroundings. Where the hell even are you now? The marble floor of the lobby is still cool to the touch, and the front desk is before you with several keys on hooks against the wall. Each of them includes a keychain with two small, clear star-shaped crystals embedded at the bottom. Too bad you can't seem to remove the keys just yet! Guest accommodations aren't quite ready.

Ah, right. About that. You aren't alone! After all, what's the fun in playing a game by yourself? Should one try to actually count the keys hanging on the wall, you'll find there are 35 in total. You can also learn more about them should you look at the leather-bound book bolted to the front desk. Though some of them may look a bit different, seeing how everyone gathered in the lobby is dressed to the nines. What happened to your other clothing? Worry not. You do want to be presentable at the front desk, don't you?

Speaking of the front desk, while you aren't able to retrieve your keys or even leave the ground floor right now, you will find small gift boxes scattered around the desk as a complementary gift for each guest. Inside these boxes, you will find:

-A flask. Those of legal drinking age will find it filled with a sweet wine, and those underage will find juice of some kind.
-A shaving kit
- A single aspirin
-A keychain
-A condolence card
-A sheet of temporary tattoos
-A small bag of jerky
-A compact mirror with a cute pattern on the outer casing

No other items are on your person even if you were holding onto them prior to your arrival. Perhaps the bellhop has already taken your luggage for you?

But despite the front desk hosting a small cluster of bells, ringing them doesn't seem to draw the attention of anyone. The bells cannot be removed from the desk, but the hotel staff appears to be occupied with other tasks.

It looks as though you're on your own for now until maintenance is finished. But it's just like the first time, isn't it? Get to know the other guests, start asking questions, and settle in for your stay.

You can check-out any time you like, but you can never leave...

N̸A̵V̴I̶G̶A̶T̴I̴O̸N̷.̷

█ LOCATIONS █ STATUSES █ PROFILES █ AUDIENCES
█ REPORTING █ PRIVATE CONVOS █ MURDER

Comments

kazunari

[unbested]

[ from here! ]

Y-yeah! Right! I've actually got a pretty big case in court, uh... tomorrow...

[ it's still the same fucking case that was "four days from now" that he was afraid of missing in his last game ]

That I'll probably get back in time for? Somehow?

[ at least pops can't be mad at him if he misses it now, though... ]

[dms]

Tomorrow?! And we haven't even gotten our rooms yet?!

[ alarming! didn't time keep moving in the prism? can it just stop for something like this? he's worried for you, bestie!!

...but he nods. ]

Mm. Then that means we'll have to try and fix things here ASAP so you'll make it in time.

[unbested]

I mean, last time it was four days away, and they were able to send me back to the same day I came from! So it's... a thing that's possible, I think? Though they were also aliens or something...

[ he pretends to understand what was going on there but he really doesn't ]

But yeah, if we can just free everyone fast and get out of here, that would definitely be the best!!

[ not that he has any idea how to accomplish that, but... please... ]

What do you think they want us to do here anyway?

[dms]

Whoa, that's so cool! And useful! They didn't do anything like that for us in the prism! [ ... ] I think. I didn't actually make it all the way home to find out.

[ about that... ]

I'm not sure. There was something about "entertainment," and I know there's a bunch of people assuming it's... you know, killing people again? But as an actor, I kind of hope they'd prefer a good play instead. It's way easier, less messy, and so much more fun!

[unbested]

You mean you went right from the last thing to this??

[ shit, he thought he had it bad with his 3-day break????

anyway, he kind of winces at "killing people again". everyone really does keep saying that... ]

An actor... Maybe they just want to make a play or movie about what happened to all of us!

[ that they... took hostages for instead of just buying the rights from them............. it's fine this fits his sense of logic ]

I mean, we weren't supposed to have any murders in the alien study at all, they just kind of happened because there was this one really crappy vampire who ruined everything all the time.

[dms]

Yeah... It was a huge surprise! And right when I was looking forward to seeing everyone back home, too.

[ wehhhh... but anyway! focusing on the positive stuff!! ]

That'd be fun, right?! It'd be a drama, for sure, but I bet we could work in some comedy, too! There's no fun when it's all drama all the time. You've got to have some good moments, too.

[ taps his chin... he really just is accepting an alien study with no question huh ]

I don't think it was supposed to happen in the prism, either, but refracting kind of made it happen anyway. [ ... ] You had vampires, though? Like, real ones?

[unbested]

Three of them! And there were only... I think eighteen of us? So... [ attempting to do this math in his head ] like a quarter of us [ no ] were vampires!

One of them was super cool, though. But that other one was the worst!! The third one died kind of early so I'm not sure if he was serious when he was being creepy or not...

[dms]

Whoa, that's so many! I've never even met one! At least one of them was good, though, even if the others were weird.

...Did they come here, too? Have you seen them?

[unbested]

I don't think so, there's only one person I've seen here that I knew from before.

[ and there's a guy with the same name as bucky according to the guestbook, but he's old and doesn't play guitar so clearly that's just a coincidence! ]

I guess that's probably good, since I don't want Mr. Valvatorez to have to worry about someone... and since I don't want that other one anywhere near me!

[dms]

It's good that you're not alone, though. Even if the circumstances aren't so great, it'd be harder if you didn't know at least one person, right?

But maybe you can go visit the others when we're done with whatever we need to do here! And after your case, of course.

[unbested]

Yeah, that's true... and I think he's pretty okay even if he did try to attract a bee to my hair that one time. Are there people you know here?

[dms]

A bee? Why'd he try to do that?

[ hello? sebastian is not a flower? ]

And yeah, there's a couple! Maririn and Selkie - the tall one? Both of them were in the prism, too. Maririn and I were roomies, even!

[unbested]

Well, we were gardening and we had to get bees to help us...

Oh, you know the tall guy? He had a statue out there that looked a lot like him, it was weird!

[dms]

Oh! See, that makes way more sense.

And yeah, I saw that! Soooo weird! But I think he would have mentioned if he'd ever been in a position like the residents. [ says kazu like they ever talk. ] Maybe it's his long lost twin?

[unbested]

Oh! He said he didn't have any relatives who would be statues, but if it was a long lost twin, then he wouldn't know, right? That's a good theory!

[dms]

Exactly! And he's the type who's really sure of himself, you know? It probably freaks him out too much to keep thinking about it, too!

[ i'm sorry emet ]

[unbested]

Someone else here must have met his twin before if there's a statue of him though, right?

—Oh, hey!

[ kitchen!!!! ]

[dms]

Probs! But I don't know who, and I don't think he'd want us asking, anyway.

[ kitchen!! ]

Okay, let's just grab a glass and fill it before they get mad at us. Then we can do the rest in the lobby, so we can take our time!