Trepidation (No Slots Left, Under New Management)

[Spartan Bannana]

A musky smell fills the heated air, at first Jim is working too hard to notice, but as he leans away from the boiler fires to wipe his forehead he smells it. His nostrils flare and he looks around trying to discern the source of the odd smell.
"Shit," He mutters to himself, "Hope the boss ain't here anymore, that's probably the central air conditioner and if he notices I haven't fixed it yet he'll have me fired" Jim finishes, leaning against one of the machines then smashing his wrench against it in a fit of rage. Stepping back from the machine and using his dirty rag in a futile attempt to polish away the dent, Jim notices the scent becoming overpowering.
I can't ignore this any longer, he decides, then walks off through the rows of machines while clouds of steam jet off around his head.
He kneels down to the cold pavement floor, his knees aching from being bent over so long before, he winces in pain and exhaustion as he continues the long and tedious work that he used to enjoy.

 

[Berethond]

With a reluctant start, Joseph pulls himself out of his dreamless sleep. Quick sweeps around the room assure him he is still alone. He lithly steps out from his bed. Time for his daily cold shower. That completed, he looks around his room. Picking up the Bible from the drawer, he ponders the day ahead. Likely more monotony and repitition. Life's been boring since leaving California, just the way he liked it.
Lyrics played in his head:

I was raised from a broken seed, I grew up to be an unwanted weed.
The music constantly running through his mind was a great comfort.

Ever faster the time exceeds me, little harder again to remember you .
I am not quite the man you take me for.
Strangely poetic, these words. The poem of my life, he mused in silence.

 

[Abako]

Spoiler

So about what time would it be? Or do I have to find that out from my character?

 

[Khedive Rex]

Gulliver perched himself on his bed and gazed at the wonders of his accomidations. His one room had a cheap coffee-maker, (mounted to the wall because, of course, you can't trust the riff-raff) complete with cheap coffee mugs. There was a radiator next to the window, which must be broken because the room was freezing. The wallpaper was ... clinical. The carpets were beige. The room smelled like windex and laundry detergent.

There was a minibar. A little refrigerator with mouthfuls of alcohol in it. You had to pay extra for the drinks though, didn't you?

Gulliver took out his wallet and counted it's contents. It was a pointless ceremony only confirming what Gulliver knew by heart. He had twenty two dollars to his name. Maybe it helped though, seeing the money. Maybe feeling the single twenty and two singles that accounted for his fortune, weighing them in his palms, gave Gulliver a truer sense of their value.

Gulliver sat and stared at the bar. He breathed deeply and thought about nothing so much as how he thirsted for a taste of scotch.

"... I wonder how much two dollars would buy me?" he whispered to no one but himself.

And then he remembered the receptionist. A politely civil woman with tired eyes, pursed lips and a tightly rolled hair bun. He'd been checking in and she'd asked if he wanted a suite. He'd, well, he'd stumbled. It wasn't any of her damn business that he couldn't afford a suite for two nights. She didn't have any reason to know. But before he could explain she just sighed, nodded her head and handed him his keys.

"The presumption! What? Do I look poor? Smell poor? You can just look at me and know?! I came here in a Car! Like regular people! She shouldn't have known!"

He remembered that car. A black Buick with a posh driver his parents sent to pick up their deadbeat son and bring him to the hotel. It was the first thing he'd accepted from them in six years, and it made him feel sick. Maybe it was just a ride but ... he hated himself a little for taking it.

"... Fuck this. I'm not giving that receptionist the satisfaction. And when Dillian and Sheryle get here I'm paying them for that ride. I don't know why they suddenly think they can sweep back into my life but ... Fuck them!"

Gulliver sat up. He felt much angrier than he had before. He didn't want to be in that little room anymore. He wanted to be back outside, wandering through the wilderness, following his life's work, searching for the unknown!

... But there wasn't any wilderness around here. And it was getting late.

Gulliver put his insulin shots and radio on the counter by the coffee maker. He untucked the blankets from under the corners of his bed and crawled in. The room was still cold. But maybe it would be better in the morning.

Footsteps echoed outside his door. Inconsiderate bastards.

 

[Flying-Emu]

Remy's eyes shot open as the dull tap tap of footsteps receded down the hallway. Nestling back against his rather comfortable pillow, Remy rolled the silver ring which normally lay on his left hand between his fingers.

"It's the last I've got of her..." Remy laughed quietly at the thought; what in Hell had made him think of her? It'd been four years since he'd seen her.

"She's probably moved on by now. Gotten married. Popped out a few tykes even." Unpleasant thoughts rolled through his head as he rolled on his side, placing the ring against the bedstand. As he slowly drifted into sleep, the ring continued to consume his vision as the footsteps outside continued to reverberate through the walls.

Spoiler: ooc:

If it's not too much trouble, could you copypasta all the rules into one location? So that I don't have to roll through five pages of character entries to figure out one rule I don't remember fully.

 

[mshcherbatskaya]

Spoiler

So about what time would it be? Or do I have to find that out from my character?

Spoiler: Between 1 and 2 in the morning.

Please don't make it daytime on your own folks. I'll try to be good about keeping the clocks running correctly.

 

[Bling Cat]

Spoiler

What about us on the upper floors? Should we refrain from posting, as we are asleep? Or should we post something anyway?

 

[mshcherbatskaya]

Spoiler: ooc:

If it's not too much trouble, could you copypasta all the rules into one location? So that I don't have to roll through five pages of character entries to figure out one rule I don't remember fully.

Spoiler: a man after my own heart

Yes, I will get the rules, etc, jubbled together in a format that can be understood by someone other than myself and get it posted.

Spoiler: people on the upper floors

You may do as you like for now. I haven't forgotten you. There is actually stuff happening that involves you as well, but at this point, it's rather subtle.

 

[mshcherbatskaya]

Spoiler: Tick tick tick

I know everyone with a life is out celebrating the New Year, but the round is closing and some is going to get personally introduced to my own contribution to this story in about an hour, so if you are going to do something, do it soon.

hungry. so hungry. the baby is hungry, not her baby, he's not her baby, but she is his Mother. she is his Mother and he is her darling Prince. she's hungry too, but if the baby is too hungry he will cry, and she must never let the precious baby cry. it is terrible, terrible, when the Prince cries.

 

[The Kind Cannibal]

Ecky watched the elevator door open to reveal an empty and dark hallway. Mundane at best was the decor, nothing really standing out to the eye of a guest. The only lumination was from the elevator button on the outside and of course the elevator interior lights as well. But they quickly disappeared as he stepped out onto the second floor. The pneumatic and mechanical sound of the elevator returning to the ground floor was the only thing to match the sound of Eckys feet as the swiftly treed toward his room.

Fumbling for a his room key he finally found it with the aid of his handy lighter to illuminate the keyhole. A slight metallic clink of the lock turning along with the door knob gave way to the slight sound of hinges moving along with a sigh of relief from Ecky. He closed the door behind him and locked it with all three locks, paranoia of his past illegal actions taking over.

He f;lopped onto the bed and slightly bounced from the springs of the mattress, but he didn't mind. In his mind he was somewhere else, doing something else. Living the dream it seemed. He was imagining himself far away from the lonely hotel.

If only I could erase my record, I'd be free from those cops. No more shameful reports after background checks. No more escaping in the middle of the night as the cops knocked the doors off. No more sweating brows when a cop drove past. Only a dream.

 

[mshcherbatskaya]

Spoiler: I should have been more clear - IMPORTANT

All the hall lights are on, but the hallway lighting is mellow, not bright. Hotels do not turn off the lights in open guest areas for safety reasons. Awww, isn't that nice? A survival-horror environment that thinks of your safety! The only reason the halls would be dark is if someone cut the power, and no one has cut the power--yet. Same goes for the lobby area, but the lights are dimmed a bit more than the hallways because no one is expected to be down there at night. The restaurant, being closed, has the doors locked and the lights out.

Spoiler: U MADE ME A WAITUR BUT I EATED IT.

Sorry, rogueshadows, but you were the one sitting alone in a dark room doing nothing, and you know that's never going to end well in a horror movie.

she sees him sitting at the table. he does not see her. she's weak with hunger always, but her hands are strong now, stronger than they ever were, strong as bones. she caught a glimpse of herself in a bathroom mirror when she first changed. her face changed, her eyes so much bigger (all the better to see you with, my dear) and her mouth so wide, so many, many teeth (all the better to...) but she doesn't eat him. he isn't for her, he's for the baby. she doesn't choke him, not this one, they make too much fight and noise. she doesn't bite him, not this one, too much blood and mess, though even a little blood in her mouth helps. she is so hungry, and it isn't stealing, she can't help it, she doesn't mean to take food from the baby, not even one bite, just one little bite. but her fingers are nearly as sharp at her teeth, so she comes up behind him and puts her hands over his eyes guess who! peek-a-boo! and digs in, digging back through the sockets into the brain. he catches at her hands, kicks, twitches, bumps the table, and is still. she licks the buttery stuff from her fingers--it's not stealing, she can't help it--then slips the fingers of one hand back into his skull like it was a bowling ball and drags him back to the nursery. her little Prince will be so pleased, and the baby is so lovely when he smiles.

 

[Flying-Emu]

Spoiler: OOC:

Gris-leh... ;D

Anywho, so it's the start of a new round now, right?

 

[mshcherbatskaya]

Spoiler: The Rundown

OK, so here's the relevant info on the game, as much as I can think to throw together right now, and I hope it won't be too much and ruin things for you.

Spoiler: THE HOTEL

THE HOTEL:

Lobby level--front desk in the middle. As you come in, the doors to the restaurant are to the right of the desk, the elevator door is behind the desk, and the doors to the banquet room are to the left of the desk.

Basement level--divided into two rooms, the mechanicals room, which includes controls for all of the hotel systems, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, elevators, etc., and the storage room, that holds everything from tables and chairs for the banquet room, to spare furniture, to basic hotel supplies like toilet paper. All the maids' cleaning supplies and such are here, as well as the hotel laundry.

The mechanicals room is on the right, underneath the restaurant. The storage room is on the left, under the banquet room.

Stairs and Elevators--The guest elevators are in the center of the hotel and divide the hotel into left and right wings. The service elevator is at the end of the left wing of the hotel, so it runs from the storage room to the banquet room, to the floors above. It is locked and can only be accessed with a staff key. The stairwell is at the end of the right wing, so it runs from the mechanicals room to the restaurant to the floors above. The doors to the stairwell are stell fire doors and must be left unlocked in accordance with fire safety laws.

Various kinds of stuff On every floor, there is an ice machine to the right of the guest elevators and a trash can, fire extinguisher, and fire alarm to the left of the elevators.

There is a wall-mounted coffee-maker and a mini-fridge with snacks and alcohol in every room. The suites at the ends of the hall have microwaves and larger fridges.

NOTE: What I have just told you about the hotel are things that would be known to at least one of you in the group. There are other details I haven't gone into, but if you move into an area and want to know what you can "see" there, PM me and I will tell you.

Spoiler: GAMEPLAY

GAMEPLAY:

One round per 24 hours. One turn per player per round. You can only move one area per round. For instance, each guest floor of the hotel is an area, and the stairwell is an area. You can go from one floor to the stairwell in one turn, but not from one floor to the stairwell to the next floor in one turn.

Areas
The guest floors are each an Area
Guest elevator
Service elevator
Stairwell
Lobby
Restaurant
Kitchen
Banquet room
Mechanicals room
Storage room

Attacks
Hit points? We don't need no stinking hit points! Monster attacks succeed or fail, largely depending on where you end up being attacked and how well you defend yourself. You might survive an attack and get away injured, but don't count on it. If your experience is too horrific you might go crazy.

Make your defense sensible and reasonable, and don't put your character in any stupid situations and you may survive. Otherwise, you get to be one one the people who keeps the baby from crying--the hungry, hugnry baby.

Spoiler: Stuff I forgot

will go here when I remember it, or when you ask me about it. You might want to bookmark this post.

Here would be something I forgot: Contrary to Qayin's initial plan, if you don't post for a round or two, and you were stationary for your last post, you are considered to still be stationary. For instance, if you were sitting in the restaurant and everyone else went up to bed, you are still in the restaurant and a nice, juicy target. Similarly, if everyone wakes up in the morning and heads on down to the lobby, everyone except for you, then you are assumed to still be asleep in your bed. However, if you were on the move with a group or another person, then as long as that group or person is moving, you are assumed to be moving with them. Make sense?

 

[mshcherbatskaya]

Spoiler: New round starts now.

Spartan/Jim - you were unable to locate a source for the smell in the basement, so you went back to your room in the hotel (you live there, of course) and went to bed.

Everybody - when you get up in the morning, your windows seem to be covered from the outside with a cloudy film and if you try to open them, you will be unable to do so. This is worse on the lower floors than it is on the upper floors.

 

[Fire Daemon]

Spoiler: Who writes the combat?

I'm assuming that at one point man must fight monster so who writes up that conflict? Is it whoever does that attacking or is it always the monster player? Flip of a coin alternating or depending on the player/monster?

 

[Spartan Bannana]

Jim shields his eyes from the light streaming through the window and climbs out of bed. Scratching his head, he wanders into the bathroom and steps into the shower. The mirrors fog up from the heat and he steps out to get dressed. Not thinking anything of the fog on the windows, he strolls over to the window, whistling a tune. The whistling stops when he realizes he cannot open the window to let some of the muggy air out of his room.
"Sonofabitch" He mutters under his breath, and grabs a crowbar from his tool closet. The metal creaks and groans, but the window does not budge and Jim trips onto the window sill as his crowbar breaks in a clean two pieces. He holds out both pieces in front of him, "The hell...?" he lays the pieces down on his workbench to be fixed later and dresses into his jumpsuit for work, picks up his toolbox and wrench, too flustered to check what's inside and walks out of his room into the hallway.

 

[Berethond]

Joseph wakes, and repeats his daily mantra
"Today better be better than yesterday"

It's true, life will eventually hit bottom and then he'll either be dead(death would be so much better than life) or actually be happy.

I'll turn it around now, yes I will.

Striding to the window to get some fresh air, he notices a white film.
"The window's stuck," He mused. "That's strange, I opened it yesterday."

"I guess I need to go find that gun store," thought he, as he strode into the stairwell.
"Those steel doors look pretty hefty." He said under his breath.

Spoiler: OOC

I had never thought of this, but will time zones be a problem?
I'm off school right now, but I go back on Jan. 12th. Oh, yeah, I'm U.S. West Coast, time zone-wise.

 

[Higurashi]

Squinting slightly, Kaze peered to look out the window... or so he wanted. The outside seemed to be completely thick with fog, or something of the kind.

Foreign weather...

He had been up all night, contemplating how he could gather the courage to open up before Elincia, or the next girl he connected with. Her fair features.. that silver hair.. He knew she would stay here a few more days and he obviously still lived for beauty..

Shrugging it off, he leapt out of the bed and begun his morning exercise. He always trained hard in the morning. After fifteen minutes of isometric and strength-building exercises with his body as weight, he topped it off with doing 300 push-ups and staggering into the shower. He took a quick one and got dressed swiftly.

Sweeping a large delicious shot of a 15 year Lagavulin burning in his throat, he got out of his room and locked the door. He was tired of this hotel, and wanted to keep wandering. Starting it off in the mist would be interesting. He would need to buy a backpack though. As he made his way to the elevator an uneasy feeling overcame him. This sensation was rare, but he knew it all too well. He had felt it only a few times in his life, and he shuddered at the thought of the situations of its occurrence as he called the elevator to him.

Crumpling a scribbled note on a piece of paper in his pocket, he shut his eyes excruciatingly tight.

 

[gamebrain89]

"Sssh, damn it, your going to scare it away!!"

"well you don't have to be such a jackass about it Jordan, you have film of it, is it really that big of a deal if I scare it away?"

"Yes, it really is that big of a deal, the proof I have been searching for for half my life is standing right there, and you are being a loud mouth!"

" Screw you Jordan, you oversensitive BRIIIIING!!"

Jarred awake by the alarm on the bed stand, Jordan bolts upright. Confused, he takes a look around and suddenly remembers where he is.

"Damn it, what is with that freaking dream? My subconcious sure likes to screw with me."

Standing up, he streaches before going about his normal routine, toilet, shower, dressed. Sitting on the bed lacing up his hiking boots, he realizes something isn't right. It is morning, and the blinds aren't closed, so why isn't there sun coming in the window? Moving to it, he sees that it is clouded over by something. Curious, he trys to open it to see exactly what it is that is blocking the sun. Suprisingly, no matter how hard he pulls it won't open.

"Figures, freaking place won't clean their windows, its probably caked shut with 5 years worth of accumulated pidgeon crap."

Leaving the window, he decides to hit the restaurant down stairs for breakfast. Taking his room key, he shuts off the lights, locks the door, and makes his way to the elevator, Already debating with him self what to have for breakfast. While the maintenance may be subpar, the restaurant isn't too bad.

Spoiler: OOC

Hope I am doing ok, if you have any problems or suggestions let me know!

 

[mshcherbatskaya]

Spoiler: Who writes the combat?

I'm assuming that at one point man must fight monster so who writes up that conflict? Is it whoever does that attacking or is it always the monster player? Flip of a coin alternating or depending on the player/monster?

I will describe the monster's attack in a PM or post, the target(s) respond with what they want to do, and then I write up the results in full. This is according to the plans that Qayin made at the very beginning, as he described to me in the following.

This is SURVIVAL, not Rambo Horror - as in, the idea is to stay away from the action, as the only 'action' is you being separated from your face.

The game is much more about avoiding the monster while you accomplish your objectives than doing battle with the monster and killing it. The monster is intended to be lethal on contact. This is not to say I stacked the cards against you. I haven't. You aren't in the dark, you have lots of room to move, and I've given you lots of useful information in the descriptions of things you could use, and you will get more useful info and stuff as the game progresses.

If you are wondering whether you are going to suffer rogueshadows' fate, then I would say that as long as you don't put yourself in an unguarded position and then fail to respond to the thread for over 48 hours, you probably won't get snapped up like that. Rather than stick to a hard and fast rule, I intend to try and run this on the basis of logic. I know where the monster is and how fast it moves, and so I know who is in its target radius and who isn't. I even have a spread sheet tracking all this stuff. I don't want to just run around, munching away one player per round until you are all gone. I want this to be a good game, so at this point I think I just ask you to trust me, and if you have questions or feedback, PM me with it.

Spoiler: time frames and time zones

The rounds will be a full 24 hours each. We've got people from clear around the globe playing this game, so I want to make sure everyone has a window of time in which to react. This also means, though, that if you blow the full 24 hour time-window and you happen to be the logical target for the monster, there's a very good chance you will not live to see the next round. Because I'm on West Coast time, and because I work full-time, there may be times when I am going to be late to respond. This will mean more time for you to respond. There may be some additional time spent while I communicate with the next victim, er, target, as to their situation and response.