The Hotel California Meme

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The Hotel California Meme

The Premise

You find yourself in the lobby of a hotel. Maybe you needed a place - any place - to rest. Maybe you simply got lost and thought to stop inside and ask for directions. Whatever the case, you're here now.

Entering is the easy part. It's getting out that you're finding difficult.

How to Play

1. Post with your characters.
   
2. When replying to someone else's top level, roll a number to determine the prompt. Or mix and match, if you'd like.
   
3. Tag around!

Prompts

1. SUCH A LOVELY PLACE

At first, it doesn't seem so bad. The hotel is unbelievably luxurious; you have access to spas, an indoor pool, training rooms... You might as well enjoy yourself. Maybe you don't even realize you're trapped at first.

2. AND I WAS THINKING TO MYSELF, "THIS COULD BE HEAVEN OR THIS COULD BE HELL"

A few hours into your stay, the lights begin to flicker. In the darkness, the hotel seems to transform into something else entirely - something menacing and frightening. If you squint, you think you can make out the faint shapes of massive, lumbering beasts with monstrous forms.

The lights flicker once more, then die out completely.

The hotel staff appears to have disappeared entirely, but you know one thing for sure: you're not alone in here.

3. LAST THING I REMEMBER, I WAS RUNNING FOR THE DOOR; I HAD TO FIND THE PASSAGE BACK TO THE PLACE I WAS BEFORE ("RELAX," SAID THE NIGHT MAN, "WE ARE PROGRAMMED TO RECEIVE. YOU CAN CHECK OUT ANY TIME YOU LIKE, BUT YOU CAN NEVER LEAVE")

Survival is becoming increasingly difficult here, and it seems like everything in this hotel wants you dead. You're safe when there's a light source around, so you run through pack after pack of matches, burn through all the fuel in your lighter, and search desperately for batteries for your flashlight.

You can't keep this up, and you know it. You need to find a way out, and you need to find it fast. Unfortunately for you, the space inside the hotel seems to have twisted and turned. Hallways stretch on endlessly, and doors don't come out where they should.

4. HER MIND IS TIFFANY-TWISTED, SHE GOT THE MERCEDES BENZ; SHE GOT A LOT OF PRETTY, PRETTY BOYS SHE CALLS FRIENDS

The longer you stay in here, the harder it is to make sense of your own memories. You feel as though you're losing bits of yourself. Who are you? Where did you come from? Why did you come here? If you really, really think back, bits and pieces come to you. You're starting to doubt the veracity of your own memories, however. Is that really who you are? Is this really how you ended up here?

You've met up with some trusted companions who have been aiding you in your survival, but your memories of them are scattered and strange as well.

You just met this person, right? So why do you have memories of them from outside of this hotel? Why does it feel as though you've known them for years, maybe decades?

Slowly but surely, if you filter through your memories, you'll find memories of them - maybe memories of them as a childhood friend, or as the person who used to torment you during your high school years, or even as a lover.

And increasingly, you'll start to think that those memories are true.

5. HE SAID, "WE HAVEN'T HAD THAT SPIRIT HERE SINCE NINETEEN SIXTY NINE"

As you speak to your companions, you begin to notice something odd. Maybe one of them is familiar with technology and terminology that you're not, or maybe their way of dressing or speaking is antiquated.

One of you thinks to ask the other about it, and soon one thing becomes apparent: the hotel isn't just twisting space. It's twisting time, too. There are people from all decades trapped here.

It becomes increasingly doubtful that you'll be able to make it back.

6. AND SHE SAID "WE ARE ALL JUST PRISONERS HERE, OF OUR OWN DEVICE"

You're starting to lose track of time. How long has it been since you came to this hotel? Weeks, maybe months? Years, even? It's hard to say.

When you shine your light on the creatures of the hotel, you get glimpses into the past. Memories of people you've never met before, memories of people you have met before. Memories of your companions.

If you examine these memories closely, you'll notice that they seem to center around that person's misdeeds - either perceived or actual - and mental traumas.

It seems that the hotel's infliction of punishment upon its occupants might not be as impersonal as you once thought. Maybe it's picked all of you for a reason, and maybe it expects some sort of penance or absolution. It's impossible to say anything for certain, but if you could just figure this out, you feel that you might be able to find a way out of this place at last.

7. WILDCARD

Maybe the premise has given you an idea of your own. Run with it! Go wild.

(Taken from here.)

Comments

Finally a gen meme community. #7 here thanks, Technus is insane.

[technusrulez]

[Technus is likely to be a lot more at home in this hotel than most people. After all, he's already dead, and his powers revolve around electricity so keeping a light on is no problem! Even if his powers can't turn on the overhead lights, he's comfortable with just a small ball of lightning in his hand.]

[Completely clueless of the danger everyone here is in, he floats along the hallways, frowning. If anyone comes across him, they'll get a very strange question that doesn't fit this situation at all.]

DO YOU KNOW THE WIFI PASSWORD? THE CELL SERVICE HERE IS OUT, AND THERE'S NO STAFF TO ASK ABOUT IT.

3 - will match format

[delilah_dirk]

It had been relaxing. At first.

But then one of the maids had tried to rip her throat out with her bare teeth. While she'd been in the whirlpool...whatever it was. Beyond her time, which she knew and didn't much are about.

Mainly because of the attempting throat-biting.

And because everything in the hotel seemed hostile now. Luckily, she had her swords - though getting back to her room to get them, wearing just a towel, had been an adventure she didn't care for. And she usually loved a good adventure. Professional Adventuress, after all.

But now the word was: survive.

[movesthestars]

After a uniformed woman had tried biting him and another had the audacity to yank at his hair, Jareth had retreated to his owl form. At least this way, he could evade people easier, and see in the dark. Flight and convenient perched observation were also coming in handy.

He had no weapons aside from shape-shifting and charm, his illusory magic did not seem to work here.

From a high place, he spotted the woman with swords, and assumed this was a solid place to start relying on another and not hiding up high.

He swooped down, resuming his fae-like form, and a casual indifference to their circumstances.

"Room service not to your standards?"

[delilah_dirk]

There are certain rules, across the multiverse, that everyone ought to know. But when you're an immortal like Jareth, it likely doesn't occur to you to pick up certain things. For instance, never appear suddenly behind a woman on edge with bladed weapons.

The fact that in the seemingly single motion between states she passes through shock, panic, draw, and pointing two swords at him there isn't a moment of hesitation might not register much for him. But it sure does for her.

"Gah! Who are you and why are you sneaking up like some sort of...of...tall cat?!"

dr. stephen strange, mcu.

[emits]

1.

( the brochure arrives in the mail one day. normally, he wouldn't spare it another glance, throwing it away along with the other junk mail. but something about the glossy cover, the retro font, and the warm hues of the sunset on the front stirs something within him. when is the last time he had a vacation? it could be said that those months after his accident was a vacation. he had nothing to do but attend appointments, pour over medical literature, and watch the money in his bank account dwindle away. but that wasn't a vacation. those five years during the blip doesn't count as one either, especially not when there was so much work to do after returning.

so what's wrong with taking a little personal time for himself? after all, hasn't he earned it?

after shooting a quick text to wong and packing a small bag, stephen conjures a portal to the hotel. he considered taking the cloak along but it'd hardly be a vacation for it if it's stuck in his bag or his shirt pocket all day. so he leaves it behind. anyway, stephen has more trust in the cloak to guard the sanctum than whatever yahoo is selected to replace him until his return.

the brochure is correct — this is a lovely place. with a warm sun, salty air, and an attentive staff who immediately take his bag and show him to his room. already, he's feeling relaxed. within twenty minutes, stephen changes into something more casual (a loose paisley button-up and dark chinos) and heads down to the bar. although the place is brimming with noise and activity from other vacationers, he finds a small table in a quiet corner and signals to a waiter. this a lovely place.

it's the first day of his weeklong vacation. )

4.

( it's the third day of his weeklong vacation.

he wakes up from a dreamless sleep at a quarter past seven, performs his morning stretches, dresses, and is out of his room before eight to eat breakfast in the hotel restaurant. today, he decides to order eggs benedict. a rich meal, yes, but when in rome, right?

while waiting for his meal and as he sips coffee, he idly thumbs through his cell phone. wong hasn't replied to any of his texts. neither has master felder. but that shouldn't surprise stephen. wong is always busy with "sorcerer supreme duties" and felder is — well. the lights are on but no one's home. stephen will excuse some unanswered texts if it means the sanctum is still where it was when he left.

after breakfast, he takes a walk and somehow joins a group exploring the local ancient ruins. they spend most of the day out in the open without the cover of trees and so, when stephen returns to the hotel that evening, a healthy tan colors his skin. after a light supper of salmon, rice, and white wine, he returns to his room and gets ready for bed. one shower later and he slips under the cool silk sheets, exhausted yet relaxed. happy, even. the crashing of waves on the nearby beach lulls him to sleep.

it's the third day of his weeklong vacation.

he wakes up from a dreamless sleep at a quarter past seven, performs his morning stretches, dresses, and is out of his room before eight to eat breakfast in the hotel restaurant. today, he decides to order eggs benedict. a rich meal, yes, but when in rome, right?

while waiting for his meal and as he sips coffee, he idly thumbs through his cell phone. wong hasn't replied to any of his texts. neither has master felder. but that shouldn't surprise stephen. wong is always busy with "sorcerer supreme duties" and felder is —

wait. what? )

( ooc | but open to any other prompt. feel free to pm to plot. prefs. )

Aeneas | Greek mythology

[trojan_hero]