psltagon | EVENT 01: Welcome to the Pentagon!

Entry tags:

ic: events

EVENT 01: Welcome to the Pentagon!

WELCOME TO THE PENTAGON!

Picture a Las Vegas sized hotel, but with no casino. It's just very big. And there is no gift shop.

The Pentagon welcomes you...

You wake up from a doze seated in a firm lobby chair. Walked through a set of automatic sliding doors, bag in tow. Where did you get that bag? Listen, don't worry about it.

- All guests to the Pentagon arrived with a medium-sized standard rolling bag. It is filled with any items they would have brought with them if they had time to pack a standard rolling bag before they left. Weapons are okay!
- All guests may bring one living animal. The animal will retain any powers it may have as long as it is not worldbreaking.
- All guests will have their powers. They will not be allowed to use it to break the world. They may break other things, but they will be pulled aside by one of the receptionists for a Talking To. They may be barred from the hotel for the night and it gets cold outside the Pentagon!
- Guests are not limited to standard entry to the hotel. However, if they break hotel property upon entry, they will be expected to pay for repairs. Method of payment will come as soon as I'm not fuckballs tired.

Things to do:

- Check in! There is a handy dandy receptionist at the front desk ready to take your name and your reservation. Yes, you have a reservation! It's here, in this shared suite. You don't remember making that reservation? What a pity. Well, while we get you resituated in the system, I suppose you will have to make peace with your roommate. Please don't fuck up your relationship with your roommate, that would be so terribly awkward. If you would like to trade rooms, that is fine, but please notify the front desk with all involved parties with the details of the room change! Also, please allow one day for admin to catch up with bookings before you trade rooms! Try to be nice to your one night roomie okay okay

- Get breakfast! A free continental breakfast is served from 6 am to 10 am. Please come by for fresh food!

- Chill in the lobby! When it isn't doubling as the breakfast area, the lobby area functions as both a waiting room, a meeting place, and a chill seating area in case you don't want to eat your gas station hotdog at the gas station like a neanderthal. wow.

- Find your room!
Each suite has a:
- kitchenette (one pot, one pan, plastic silverware, paper plates and bowls. no food. that's at the gas station across the street.)
- microwave
- fridge (with drinks! you will have to pay for them if you take them. it's going to be Esspensive.)
- two beds (small, but very comfy)
- bathroom with bath and shower (with standard toiletries. if you need more, you can call the front desk! there are towels, but if you make a real mess, call the front desk for fresh ones.)
- toilet (no bidet)
- closet (3 hangers, one extra set of sheets, one extra comforter, two extra pillows, a small ironing board, an iron)
- shared side table (two drawer compartments, one for each bed; there are outlets for electronics)
- wardrobe (just one, but it's big! please share.)
- desk with rolling chair (just one! again, please share. also: a notepad with a cheap ballpoint pen, a phone, and a phone directory for standard hotel amenities)
- pullout bed couch (for more guests! this bed is far less comfy than the standard beds.)
- television (with standard cable and standard trash programming. nothing particular stands out about the programming.)

- book shop? ... There is a bookshop where the gift shop should be. Where did it come from? Perhaps it's always been there, in the same way the faceless staff of the Pentagon have always been there. There is currently caution tape over the front entrance. Although the entrance isn't locked, it is not advised to enter the bookshop early. Who knows what might happen (the people who were in the City knows what will happen no don't touch that—)

- gas station? across the street? The street stretches into the horizon. This place is flat. so very flat. but there's a gas station.
- fresh produce (limited, but good variety. may be slightly wilted.)
- standard basic groceries (including pet food for your Living Creatures)
- liquor section (we in the south now boyzzz)
- lotto ticket machine (?)
- chargers/small electronics
- wall o candy
- basic amenities and toiletries(fancier than hotel amenities but not by much)
- magazines!
- slushy machine
- coffee machine
- rolling hotdogs
- hot fast food
- car maintenance products. you know. for your car
- gas station guy. nice guy
How do you pay? the gas station guy will charge it to your room! Who's paying for your room? Erm. Tehe. pero

You can also go to the gas station guy and buy a bus ticket to Sin City for a vacay. Sin City is great! Lots to do in Sin City. Buses to Sin City leave every Wednesday evening — don't be late! However, after a month at maximum, you will be back in your room in the Pentagon. Guess the hotel likes you!

Other hotel amenities. This hotel isn't 5 star, but it isn't 3 star either! Standard fancy hotel amenities, such as a small gym, a pool and sauna, a well maintained laundry room, a small spa, and a business center with computers and print station also exist. The only amenity that does not exist is the standard fancy hotel restaurant. Make your food yourselves!!

welcome nerds. enjoy your stay!

OOC:
- I will make a receptionist thread. please feel free to add your character to the queue for a randomly selected room! if you would like to also have a conversation with one of our three randomly selected receptionists, please say so in your comment. thank. EDIT: room assignments are here! please add any new characters to any random rooms you like. if you change rooms, please be sure to update the spreadsheet. thank yoooou
- i'll make up how to make money and pay for stuff later. for now please don't starve just buy stuff it's Fine
- electricity works. there's local internet but search engines bring up very little about the area. gps does NOT work (for now)
- uh that's it i'm tired please tell me if i missed anything

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ the young man smiles at kaveh, and kaveh grins back, already feeling heartened. his hands luckily still remember how to put themselves to work. ]

Oh! And would you mind terribly much if I put a slice of lemon in one? I finds that it gives the water a pleasing flavour. Not that it's necessary by any means, but I think there might be people who've never had lemon water before around these parts and would find it interesting.

[A slice of lemon? How bougie.]

That's the good thing about having multiple pitchers, right? If someone likes something else we can accommodate. Do you have a favorite food?

[He can cook that too!!]

[ three pitchers and a slice of lemon later, kaveh turns back. he considers this as he reaches for a pack of mint- ]

Well, I do. It's fatteh - flatbread with hummus, chickpeas and roasted pine nuts. But it's been a long time since I've been able to get my hands on the ingredients. Ah - where did you find the ingredients for everything you're cooking? I was wondering about that. Is there a... a strange, replenishing storehouse around these parts of some kind? I'm not even sure what to expect anymore.

Fatteh... [Illuga pauses, wracking his memories of his culinary books for it.] Do you know the recipe? I might need to make it a few times to get it right though. As for the ingredients, some of them were already in the kitchen and others are available at the market. I mean, the "gas station".

[Imagine that. A station just for gas. Not, as he's come to realize, the kind of gas used to power lanterns.]

Oh, that place. [ kaveh wrinkles his nose, suddenly offended by the very memory of it. ] The place smelled putrid, and the smell of the hotdogs didn't improve it. I daren't go anywhere near it, but if it has food, I suppose I ought to at least try-

[ ... ]

Ah, wait! You planned on making... my favourite food?

[They smelled like normal hotdogs? Illuga didn't mind it.]

Well, yeah. I'm always trying to learn new dishes, and I've already seen a few ingredients we don't really get in Nod-Krai. Since you already know your favorite, why not start there?

Well, [ kaveh says, incredibly touched, ] I'm just... a little taken aback, I suppose. I've never had someone extend an offer so kind - and I'm pretty sure you don't even know my name.

- wait.

Did you just say... Nod-Krai? As in, the territory to the north of Natlan?

[But it's such a small thing, Illuga thinks. How could Kaveh have never received anything similar?

Oh. He lets out a sheepish chuckle.]

Sorry, I'm asking you these questions and didn't even introduce myself. Can I start over?

[He turns, which puts his Vision more in view, and rests his hand against his chest.]

I'm Illuga, a member of the Lightkeepers. And that's right! That means you're from Teyvat too, right?

[ the geo vision gleams on illuga's chest. kaveh suddenly wonders how he could have missed it. certainly if he had been back in teyvat, it would have been an every day occurrence to notice such a thing. but such a long time away from home has desensitised him to the things that mattered. he hadn't noticed the vision because he'd spent all these years never expecting to see it.

the realisation is unbelievably wretched. but there is an unexpected joy here - that there is yet another person from teyvat in their midst. and sure, kaveh didn't know him, and they were from entirely different regions, but it was the same camaraderie that kaveh had felt back when he had taken an internship with the stonemasters of liyue and found haravatat students joining the fray. they weren't of his darshan, but they were still connected in a place so far away from home. and after tighnari, cyno and wanderer had left...

kaveh beams, and double-checks just in case he's being a little overly familiar. ]

Yes! Yes, I am. And it's difficult to convey just how glad I am to see another person from Teyvat, but that's neither here nor there. I'm Kaveh - [ he holds out his hand for a firm shake, ] from Sumeru, and an alumnus of the Akademiya. Ah, I am, or was, an architect. I'm a little bit of everything, now, but I suppose that's what it's like when you've been away from home for some time. It's wonderful to meet you, Mister Illuga. Can I call you that?

It's nice to meet you, Mr. Kaveh. [Illuga takes his hand to give it a firm shake.] I've heard a little about Sumeru from Miss Nefer. You've been traveling from there?

[ callused hands, kaveh thinks. ] Oh! Ah, yes, in a sense. In fact, it's a bit of a long story - a really, really long story, so I won't bore you with it.

[ but now with proper introductions out of the way, he feels like he's on far better footing. kaveh rolls up his sleeves with a pleased air. ] Anyway, you've been asking me what my favourite food is, but what about you? Allow me to make it for you. I don't want to take over your kitchen given that you've a plan for all this food for everyone, but while you're cooking for everyone else, perhaps I can make something for you.

[And that, Illuga won't pry despite his curiosity. At least, not now and not directly. He's from Nod-Krai, and they don't ask about your past.]

Then fatteh isn't just your favorite, it's like a taste of home. [Which only increases his resolve.] I like everything I've made so far, but I won't turn down a helping hand. There's still vegetables to dice and herbs to shred for lohikeitto. Would you tell me more about what goes into fatteh?

[ a taste of home, huh.

kaveh's throat tightens at the thought. it's been a really long time since he's had that, hasn't it.

right! vegetables. kaveh can make that work. immediately, he takes the chopping board, fishing out a knife so that he can start sifting through what needs to be chopped and what doesn't. ]

Ah- wait. Before that, for the lohikeitto, what goes into that? I've never heard of that dish before, and I'd like to figure out which vegetables and which herbs needs to go into it. And how large the pieces should be.

Don't worry, I've already got them laid out. [Illuga has a whole system going here from years of experience needing to cook in bulk, trained by those Lightkeepers who used to man the kitchens of Piramida when he was a child.

He gestures to the chopping blocks with the potato, carrot, leek, and dill. There's cream set to the back of the counter as well. Illuga takes up the salmon fillets.] As for size medium is best, a little smaller than you'd put in a stew.

[ right. potato, carrot, leek and dill. and it looks like the stew contains fish. kaveh nods, and then begins to examine the vegetables. remarkably, someone has gone in and picked out anything that might've even remotely resembled being wilted. kaveh suspects it can only be the young man in this room.

he takes to shredding and chopping the vegetables. it's easy work, and it makes it easy to carry on a conversation as he does so. ]

You really do have a system. I knew it from the way you've laid the kitchen out; it's the perfect number of steps from the vegetables to the stove, and then to the meats and back. [ says he, impressed, ] Are you used to cooking for others?

Mmhmm. Usually for my squad, but I used to help in the kitchen for everyone in Piramida. The city is a bit of a stronghold for us Lightkeeper's, so it's normal for people to eat from the cafeteria even outside the banquets.

[And he gets right back into the prep easily, while checking on another dish he has simmering.] It really just takes a bit of organization to do.

This definitely seems more than just a bit, but...

[ a taste of home, huh. kaveh thinks about that. ] So that's what you mean by taste of home.

[Surely not. Illuga is just repeating the things he learned from those older, and wiser. Not all of them are still around anymore.]

Well, not just that. [He's careful with dividing the salmon to not accidentally shred it.] People from all over come to Nod-Krai. And when someone joins the Lightkeepers, a dish they used to enjoy or they're really craving is a small bit of happiness before facing the Wild Hunt again. It's... a reminder of where we come from and fight to protect.

[ kaveh thinks about what it's like to lose a home. ]

For those that have left their homes - that cannot return... has Nod-Krai now become their home?

Not everyone who comes through stay, but for those that do... I think so. I'd like for it to be an even more welcoming place precisely for those who need to start again.

[Illuga peeks at Kaveh from under his bangs.] What's it like for you in Sumeru? I've never been.

What is Sumeru like... [ there's a knot in kaveh's throat. ] How would one describe a piece of art, or a song?

I'm probably not the best person to ask, but... I guess I'd start with what it's about?

[ ... ]

[ kaveh laughs. it's not the first time he's laughed since arriving here, but it's the first time he's done so without crying. he's not sure when it became so difficult to laugh - but after a moment of self-reflection, realises that it's because he had been expecting home on the other end of that barrier after all. the sumeru of right now feels so much farther than the sumeru of two years ago.

but it really is silly for a mere memory - a memory that bolsters spirits and which keeps people going - to be something he avoids. and he is not the only one who misses sumeru. ]

Sorry, sorry. I'm not laughing at you - just... [ he trails off, then decides that hiding it helps nobody, and grins again. ] I've been wondering about the topic of home recently. After trying so hard to get back to the place where I feel like I belong, it's just so discouraging to be here, to feel like I'm back to square one. But just because I've changed doesn't mean that what I love about Sumeru has changed. I'll gladly share the stories with you, be them a piece of art or a song.

But the topic... well, it has to be this, right? The topic has to be 'love'. [ kaveh lets something wistful take him as he piles up the shredded herbs, then reaches for another ream of lettuce. ] Sumeru is a place of love. We loved it when the sunlight filtered through the branches of the canopy, a single thread of light bringing with it the scent of the Divine Tree. The way the Kulfiwallahs loved to call out to the single young men and women on the street, peddling their wares as a way for couples to find each other. The libraries and books, because we're a city of scholars - we have those piled high up to the ceiling, each one well-worn with broken backs and notes along its margins. Life there smelled like forests, and rivers, and old books, and freshly made pita along the street corners. It sounded like rumbling carts, and the laughter of children, and spirited debates in the square over one citation or another.

[ something catches in kaveh's throat. he clears it, and then gathers up the chopped vegetables into a basket. ] It's a place that I love and am proud of, and ought to celebrate even now. I haven't been back in some time, but I'm willing to bet that there is still no place quite like it.

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