Places to Chat
Ski Lodge!
Chatterbox: Pudding's Place
Ski Lodge!
Ski Lodge!
For a second, there is static.
Endless nothingness, with only a strange, scratchy sound to keep you company.
And then you hear a voice. A grumpy one.
"I don’t think this is going to work, Rose. I hate to break it to you, but your plan’s dumb. Even if we can get this camera, which, might I add, is ANCIENT, to work, what do we do then?"
A figure comes into focus. Two of them, actually. A teenage girl with brown hair, a black and white headband, and an olive green jacket fixes the camera, while a person with short, curly auburn hair and a blue sweater looks angrily at her.
"What did I tell you, Atom?” The girl grins at the camera. “I told you, with a little perseverance, we’d get this thing working. Now we can carry out my AMAZING plan!" She claps her hands and the curly-haired person scowls. The girl turns to the camera and stares—at you.
"Hello there!" She says, and you jump back. "I’m Rose, and this is Atom! We’re talking to you from the Somewhere Hotel!"
"Some hotel this turned out to be,” says the person named Atom. “I truly do not think this is a very good idea. Maybe you’ll convince some people to come, but that will not change the fact that you can’t get Echo to come out of her room—"
"—What Atom means is that we’re inviting you to stay at our wonderful hotel, and the owner, Madam Echo Lunation herself, will be here to greet you!"
"Will she?” Snaps Atom. "Or will one of her colorful personalities be here instead?”
"ENOUGH!” You jump again as Rose yells at Atom. "Everything’s going to be okay, okay, Atom? Now I know you don’t want to believe it, but it is going to get better. These people will help us, as we will help them. So there.”
Rose turns back to you and gives what seems very much like a forced smile. "As Atom has mentioned, our hotel has fallen on some… Tough times. Perhaps you have, too? Maybe you just do not know it. We need a helping hand here, and we’re willing to offer you one in exchange: an exciting adventure here at our extraordinary hotel! What do you think?"
What do you think? Should you go on this adventure and help Rose and Atom and this… Echo character? Do you even have a choice?
You’re thinking when an envelope slips out of your CD player. In it is a strange letter.
"Gotta go—good luck!" Rose’s voice grows staticky and harder to understand. "W-w-w-we’re counting o-on Y—Y—YOU…" the TV shuts off.
You read the letter:
Welcome! To enjoy a completely free 13-Day stay at the Somewhere Hotel, please fill out the following form:
Name:
Pronouns:
Appearance:
Packing list (please note that any silver watches will be confiscated if found):
Personality:
Lucky number:
Is the glass half full or half empty?:
What do you say at the end of a story?:
Is it going to be okay?:
What’s in the mirror?:
Favorite beverage:
*starts singing Broadway Musical songs*:
You wake up and realize that someone has dyed your hair purple. What’s your reaction?:
Aren’t I so good at writing questions?:
Last, and most important of all… What is your greatest weakness? Something you want to fix about yourself?:
Anything else?:
Hmm. This is quite the puzzler, you think. But what else were you going to do—watch reruns on your TV all night? No. Perhaps this 13-Day stay will do you some good. Besides, it’s a hotel. A weird one, but weird is cool. What could possibly go wrong? You fill out the form and lean back on your couch, ready to start this strange adventure.
~~~
We hope to see you soon!
submitted by Echo, Rose, and Atom, The Somewhere Hotel!
(May 1, 2022 - 8:50 pm)
(May 1, 2022 - 8:50 pm)
new part!!
AVARA WAIT WHAT NO-- "a bad time to fall asleep" that's so ominous?? i hope she'll be okay
and Tsuki and Darkling are still trapped/the power sources, right? hope everything turns out alright for them, too, but i have a feeling it won't...
everyone else is alright, that's good to hear... but uh oh Underscore and OS are there--
i love your writing and worldbuilding sm, and this is AN AMAZING SKI LODGE. one of the best i've ever had the pleasure of reading/being a part of :D i'm always so excited when a new part comes out :)
(September 1, 2023 - 7:11 pm)
Oh noooo! How did OS and Underscore get in? And I hope that Darkling and Tsuki will be okay...
(September 6, 2023 - 1:47 pm)
Oh noo, I thought I had finally gotten away from other-me! What does she mean by "what makes us different"?? Can't wait to find out!
(September 7, 2023 - 9:29 pm)
I thought I already commented here...guess I forgot...
I like this ski lodge A LOT. There are a lot of creative concepts in it, like Echo being multiple different people, Layla being able to make the deaths disappear all the sudden, a maze of memories...Wow. I'm also impressed that this has been going on for so long...
(September 8, 2023 - 7:52 pm)
(December 3, 2023 - 8:24 pm)
Mini-Part: Remember
"Do you have everything you need, sweetheart?”
Echo sat in the car next to the foster mother she did not need, feeling like a small, helpless child. She always felt small and helpless around Daniella, who was well-meaning and kind and better than the last few foster parents she’d had but also just another adult who pitied her.
Echo would be eighteen soon. She would be an adult. Why was everyone treating her as though she were still just a kid?
“Yes,” Echo said. “I think so.”
“Okay, good.” The drive to the support group was short, and they didn’t talk for a few moments until Echo finally said, “Thank you for driving me. And signing me up and paying for this and stuff. … It’s nice of you.”
“Of course, honey. I can’t believe nobody ever got you any counseling, after all you’ve been through. Mental health is so important.”
They pulled into the parking lot. “Need me to walk you inside?”
Echo noticed a girl walking in. She seemed to know where to go. “I’ll just follow her,” she said, gesturing to the girl. “Thanks. See you in two hours.”
“Bye!”
She got out of the car and followed the girl, who had brown hair and was wearing a t-shirt that had the name of some musical.
The girl pushed the door open and held it for Echo. “Thank you,” Echo said.
“Of course!” She walked with Echo. “You new? Know where to go?”
“Yeah, I’m new. I’m not really sure where to go.”
“Just follow me!” She smiled. “I’m Rose, by the way. What’s your name?”
“Echo.”
“Pleasure to meet you, Echo! I hope we can be friends.”
“Yeah,” said Echo, somewhat surprised but not unhappy. She gave a nervous smile. “I hope so, too.”
***
OS was glaring at her counterpart. Underscore was looking at his with fear.
“W-we’re not you,” Underscore said. “…We’re not you anymore.”
There was silence for a moment. The fear in Underscore’s eyes turned into a mix of sadness and exhaustion. They flew through the window, landed on the floor, walked over to Writing, and extended their hand. Tentatively, Writing shook it.
“I am Underscore,” Underscore said simply. “And I am not you. OS over there isn’t Silver Crystal.”
OS nodded, but continued glaring. “You are blind. We are not.”
“… What?”
“We know things.” Underscore was still trying to catch their breath. “We know things we can’t tell you.”
“Why not?” Echo asked. She raised her eyebrows skeptically and looked ready to fight if she needed to.
“Because it makes us more powerful,” OS said.
“Because we’re too weak to stop this.”
Underscore looked over at OS, expecting her to argue, but she didn’t.
Their eyes seemed to be glowing with a white light. It was strange and unexplainable, but whatever it was, it flickered, and the two glanced at each other nervously.
“Do you feel it?” OS asked.
“Yes,” Underscore whispered.
“It’s all fading. It’s all falling apart.” She laughed just a bit. “I was so foolish to fight you, Underscore. I should’ve known we could never… never make it out of this wretched maze…”
“But you are out of the maze,” Atom said. “If you’re here, you’re free.”
Now, Underscore and OS were both laughing. The lights in their eyes flickered again and seemed to take longer to come back every time.
“We’re not free,” Underscore whispered. “We haven’t been free in a long, long time.”
“And neither have all of you,” OS agreed.
The lights flickered one last time, and then their eyes were dark. The lights of the room itself flickered, too, and when they came back on OS and Underscore were gone.
Before anyone could say, “What just happened?” They heard voices.
“Why does this keep happening?” Writing groaned as they all rushed out the door to see what was happening now.
***
I know it's not much, but my muse seems to have disappeared and this was the best I could do! It's been months so I wanted you all to know this is not dead. I hope you enjoyed this part and hopefully the next one will be out soon!
(December 3, 2023 - 8:31 pm)
(December 3, 2023 - 8:58 pm)
oh my gosh we got a bit of Echo's past and i'm so excited to learn more about her :DD and WHOA that but with Underscore and OS was so well written!! "'We haven't been free in a long, long time.' 'And neither have all of you'" WHAT i swear I got chills. it's always so cool to see how you interpret the ski lodge genre by making the whole thing sort of falling apart. i don't even know what i'm saying but it's just so so masterfully done.
this is seriously just SO GOOD. i love the ski lodge so so much and it's incredible it's been going on for--what? a year and a half now? that's amazing. <333
(December 4, 2023 - 6:45 am)
"Their eyes seemed to be glowing with a white light" Herobrine vibes anybody?
Excellent part, by the way. I love OS. She's evil and scary and I love her.
(December 4, 2023 - 12:03 pm)
ahhhh I'm so glad this is back!! I always look forward to new parts :D
(December 4, 2023 - 4:18 pm)
Gosh, everything my counterpart says seems to be stranger and more terrifying than the last. I hope they get out of this maze soon, it really seems to be messing with everyone. I really liked seeing some more backstory from Echo and Rose! Can't wait to see what happens next :D
(December 4, 2023 - 10:09 pm)
(December 17, 2023 - 9:18 pm)
(January 8, 2024 - 1:43 pm)
Day 10, Part 28
“I’m Rose, by the way. What’s your name?”
“Echo.”
“Pleasure to meet you! Echo. I hope we can be friends.”
“Yeah… I hope so too.”
Figures of younger Roses, Atoms, and Echos walked about the hotel, some in conversation with each other, some in their own little worlds. A younger Rose and Echo shared a conversation while walking down the hallway. An Atom from what only could’ve been one or two years ago leaned against the wall, writing in his journal.
“What’s going on?” Silver Crystal said, asking what everyone was thinking.
“I’m… not sure,” said Rose slowly.
“I think we might still be in the maze.” Atom said slowly.
“This is weird.” Echo stared at one of her old selves staring into a mirror.
“That’s an understatement.” A version of Rose that could only have been eleven or twelve ran down the hallway, chased by a boy everyone figured was Eugene. Actual Rose looked on.
“We need to find the others, and a way out of here,” Echo finally decided. She ran down the stairs of the hotel. Everyone else followed after her, but by the time she got down the steps, she was alone.
Echo looked back. “Uh, guys? Where did you go?”
There were no people.
But there were ghosts. Ghosts and voices, everywhere.
“It’s so nice to meet you…”
“What’s going on?”
“ECHO!”
“What do you see?”
They jumbled together, messing with Echo’s thoughts. She stood still, focusing on the last one until it was all she could hear anymore.
***
“What do you see?” Rose asked, panicked. “What is it?”
“I see the ghosts of my past,” Echo said, stunned. The Hall of Ghosts, she was discovering, was not a pleasant place to be.
“Are you okay?” Rose said slowly.
“Yes.” Echo ran her fingers through her hair. “Yeah, I’m okay.”
“Maybe I could find my brother here,” Atom said. He looked around, as though hoping Timothy would appear. Maybe he would.
“Atom, I don’t think it’s a good idea to stay here much longer.” Rose fidgeted.
Atom glared. “Just because you don’t want to see Paola doesn’t mean I’m not looking for Timothy, Rose.”
He brushed past her and walked off, ignoring Rose’s protests.
“We should go after him,” Rose said.
Echo shook her head. “No, let him go. Maybe he really will find his brother. But we can go inside, if you want.”
“Okay.” Rose did not seem satisfied. “But if he’s not back in an hour, I’m coming back for them. This place gives me the creeps.”
***
Rose was alone. She didn’t know how or why, but she was. There were memories everywhere, and she couldn’t find anyone, and it was so overwhelming…
Focus, a voice told her. Just focus, Rose.
So she did.
***
Something was wrong with Echo. Everything had felt off ever since they’d arrived at the Hall of Ghosts.
“What do you see? What is it?”
“I see the ghosts of my past,” Echo responded. Rose had guessed that much, because she was seeing the ghosts of her past too — and she didn’t like it one bit.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes. Yeah, I’m okay.”
“Maybe I could find my brother here,” Atom said. His eyes were far away.
Rose didn’t think this was a good idea. Yeah, maybe Atom would find their brother — or maybe they’d find their father. But when she protested, Atom glared. “Just because you don’t want to see Paola doesn’t mean I’m not looking for Timothy, Rose.”
Rose’s stomach flipped, and she had nothing to say in reply as Atom walked off.
She could smell chocolate cake baking, and she could hear Paola asking her to help the next customer. She hated this place. “We should go after him.”
“No, let him go. Maybe he really will find his brother. But we can go inside, if you want.”
Rose’s eyes filled with tears, but she kept her voice steady. “Okay. But if he’s not back in an hour, I’m coming back for them. This place gives me the creeps.”
***
It took Atom a moment to realize everyone had disappeared.
“Huh?” They said. “What happened?”
He wandered outside to find a memory awaiting them. It was the first day they’d ever been to the Hall of Ghosts.
***
Atom felt slightly guilty for snapping at Rose, but he’d apologize later. They had to find Timothy.
“Ah. If it isn’t my least favorite son.”
Atom stiffened and did not turn around. “Xavier?”
“Xavier?” His father mimicked. “Don’t call me that. I’m your father.”
Atom said nothing, not out of spite, but because he suddenly felt like he couldn’t breathe.
“Well, aren’t you going to talk to me?”
“No,” came Rose’s voice. “They will not be talking to you.”
***
Atom gasped and looked up.
“Rose?”
“Atom!” Rose threw her arms around him. “That was terrible.”
“I agree,” Echo said. “I don’t know what this place is, but let’s not do that again.”
“At least we know what to do if get lost again,” Rose said. “We just have to focus on the same memory.”
“Maybe not that one next time,” Atom said. Rose and Echo both nodded.
They all looked back to the hotel, and Echo gave a little gasp.
The building looked the same, for the most part. It was still tall, but not too tall. It was the same color. Its light glowed as it always had.
But the sign didn’t say “The Somewhere Hotel” like usual.
It said “Echo Lunation’s Hotel for the Empty.”
***
Well, there's the title reveal! This story is called Echo Lunation's Hotel for the Empty.
I did not plan to disappear for so long; thank you all for your patience. I do plan to finish this story sooner or later!
(March 30, 2024 - 6:29 pm)
(March 30, 2024 - 7:22 pm)