𝐓𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐃𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐌𝐄𝐌𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐃𝐔𝐗

[fenstaff]

I. A-A-AY, I'M ON VACATION
if you don't like your life, then you should go and change it ♫♪

Welcome to Hotel Fen!

All guests are given the current week’s list of special activities by the cheerful blonde receptionist upon check in. There’s also a small stack of them on the reception desk should you lose yours, or if you would like a second copy.

Your itinerary reads:

MONDAY — TOO ZEN TO GIVE A DAMN
The two conference rooms in the third floor have been transformed to accommodate several massage chairs with masseuses. The two seminar rooms have also been cleaned up, and all the chairs have been settled on one side to make room for several yoga mats, spread out and waiting for people to use them. The instructors are two pretty blondes, tall and lithe like supermodels, and they're in one of those impressive acrobatic poses when you enter.

TUESDAY — HIKE MORE, WORRY LESS
There are several beautiful trails around the hotel for people to hike and explore. Some are marked as longer than others, but there are plenty of guides around with maps to hand you or actually accompany you on the hikes. They’re also happy to suggest which trail is best for you based on your level of experience.

WEDNESDAY — I WAS MERMAID FOR THIS
The pool area on the first floor is bustling with activity today. There are extra towels for everyone, there’s music pumping through the speakers, and there are a few tables set up with snacks. And while pools aren’t just for kids, there are some juice boxes and animal crackers for those who are so inclined.

THURSDAY — INTO THE UNKNOWN (BUT SAFELY)
Nestled in the small hill behind the hotel is a cave that you can rent equipment to explore. The tour guides will assure you that there’s no real way to get lost in the caves; all the paths are marked and will lead you toward the exit. So why not explore? You never know how deep they go or what you’ll find in them.

FRIDAY — A BALANCED DIET IS CHOCOLATE IN BOTH HANDS
The restaurant is holding special demonstrations throughout the day, and after the demonstration there are free samples to help yourselves to. Ever wondered how to make truffles? The dessert chef will be more than happy to take you through the experience.

II. I CAN TOUCH THE COLORS AROUND ME
this beautiful life, i think it'd be nice with you ♫♪

Noticed the hotel's theme yet? One Saturday night it's going to be shoved into your face in full force, because it's time for the summer blót, a feast for the Norse god of war, Odin. There's going to a bonfire and face paint and singing and dancing, and of course, free-flowing booze and lots of good food. You can come in costume too, if you want to bring out the Viking in you!

III. ARE YOU, ARE YOU, COMING TO THE TREE?
stranger things have happened here ♫♪

It's a great morning to go hiking! Or night, if that's your thing. And everything's just peachy... until you try to leave the perimeter of the hotel compound, because then you'll inexplicably find yourself on the trail leading right back to the entrance.

The phenomenon is usually accompanied by the sighting of an old, blackened tree — but once you turn and walk away from it, it disappears. The tree also never seems to be quite in the same place. What gives?

IV. THE HAPPIEST SOUND OF THEM ALL (NETWORK)
ring ring, why don't you give me a call? ♫♪

There is no cell reception in the vicinity of the hotel. At all. No matter what you do or try, nada. And while each of the rooms have vintage telephones, they can only call other rooms, the front desk and the restaurant.

The business center next to the gym on the first floor has several computers for guests to use. They seem like they're connecting to the internet well enough, if not just a little slow, but you will never actually receive emails from anyone from the outside world other than emails designed to look like spam. Hmm, did your emails out actually reach their destination?

Don't worry, though, you're supposed to be on vacation! So why not chat up your new friends instead, or leave them messages at the front desk?

V. I'M COUNTIN' ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR... (BONUS)
this is my longest elevator ride ♫♪

Okay, we're just really here to plug the song, which was composed for our book's soundtrack. ☝️

But yes, you're stuck in the hotel's vintage elevator. Good luck!

Comments

[vaderfan]

[Okay, that's a little arresting. It's there and gone in a blink, something he's not even fully certain that he witnessed, but that panic just hits a chord in him that he — well, he didn't know what to do with.

Especially when she's smiling in that way, and he just feels like he should know her. His glass sets back on the bar and Ben shifts in his stool to fix that stare more firmly on her. She's still not ringing any bells, though.]

Yeah. Just one of those faces. So, since I don't know it, you got a name?

[parsec]

[ she can't help but roll her eyes. men. what should just be a casual conversation somehow feels like an interrogation. ]

Solo. Hannah Solo. [ Han to friends, which she's still undecided if he is or not. ] You?

[vaderfan]

[Let's be real, here. She could probably tell him to call her Han and he would call her Hannah. But also, that name just makes his brow furrow, breaking his impassive mask to scowl. Progress?]

Ben. [He pauses too long, because this is too weird and he's almost sorry he asked. Except that, you know, he needs to know now. Guess who just won herself some more interrogation (after this slight break).]

Solo. [A beat.] You're sure I don't know you?

[parsec]

[ she shifts uncomfortably, and focuses on her drink instead of answering right away. this is weird. ] I don't know. I could know lots of Bens. You have a last name, Ben?

[vaderfan]

No. [Wait. He does. That isn't what he meant. A small, annoyed noise follows.] That's my last name. Solo. Ben Solo.

[parsec]

You're full of shit, kid. [ he is definitely her age, but that's never stopped her before. Hannah throws her head back and laughs. ] You really had me going there for a while. I'd buy you a drink, but they're free.

[ she laughs again. ] Ben Solo. Right. Who are you really, Ben?

[ like the name might imply, there's nobody else named Solo. she's the only one. ]

[vaderfan]

[There it is again! And it's so annoyingly familiar! Ben grinds his teeth, and immediately knows that this was definitely A Thing He Did when something so dismissive was directed at him. Maybe even that phrase. He doesn't know.

Her laugh only deepens his scowl, because the fact that he can't remember anything is really not funny to him. And the fact that he didn't even tell Hannah this? Kind of doesn't occur to him. Obviously, she should just know.]

It's what the staff calls me. What my receipts say. My luggage. Ben Solo. [And back he turns to his drink. Because he'll be draining that glass now, thank you very much.] Must be my name, right?

[parsec]

[ he's mad now, which does is a little satisfying because it means she won. she softens just a little, happy to soak in her little victory instead of continuing on and trying to push his buttons.

she ranks a hand through her loose waves and offers a half shrug. ]

I don't have a have a brother or a cousin or anybody else named Ben. I guess we're just a pair of Solos.

[vaderfan]

Gotta be a common name, right?

[It's sarcastic. Not like he really can know this, but something feels eerily significant. Just because he can't put his finger on why doesn't mean he's inclined to just dismiss that feeling. In any case, buttons pushed, Ben swallows the last of his drink and signals that he wants another to the bartender.]

Just a pair of Solos checked into a hotel at the same time. Total coincidence.

[parsec]

It's a big galaxy.

[ ok, yes, so it is a weird coincidence because she's never met another Solo but that doesn't mean they don't exist.

still:]

So you've never heard of me? Captain Solo?

[vaderfan]

No. [He shrugs a little, waiting for his refill to be poured before continuing. And okay, maybe it's a little sassy.] Should I?

[If she's going to push his buttons, he's going to push right back, alright.]

[parsec]

[ ouch, that one hurt a bit. she tries to let the jab roll off her. ]

People know me. You'll learn. [ whatever that means, considering the whole point of being here was that people didn't know her. ]

[vaderfan]

Presumptive. [The implies he wants to learn. Which, okay, he does like to have a read on people, and maybe that's what is driving him up the wall about no knowing all this stuff. Besides, there's still that nagging feeling he can't place.]

Captain of what? [Asking certainly isn't making appear more disinterested, but at the very least he might as well figure out all the other people here while he's not really figuring out himself.]

[parsec]

The Millennium Falcon. [ and because she literally cannot stop herself from bragging to anyone who will listen or pretend to listen. ] It made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs. [ she pauses, smiles at him, the smugness practically radiating off here. ] I'm that Captain Solo.

[vaderfan]

[He listens to her, notes the smug smile that seems to suffuse through her very being. There's something there that makes him ill. It's not just how insufferable he finds the expression. There's something about it that feels like loss.

He speaks flatly.]

Never heard of it. Or you.

[parsec]

[ she frowns. this guy really has a lot of attitude about someone he allegedly doesn't know or care about. ]

If we were from the same place you would have. Mystery solved. [ it's enough to convince her that it really must be some weird coincidence, because who hasn't heard of the Millennium Falcon? ]

So what do you do when you're not charming people with your sparkling personality?

[vaderfan]

[She has a point, a point that's stronger than she knows even more valid than he realizes. Tempted as he is to dismiss that point entirely out of hand, however, she follows up with a question he can't answer.

He could lie, of course. There was nothing stopping him from affecting knowledge he didn't have. Maybe it was the alcohol, but he didn't really see the point..]

Can't say. Sparkling personality and a room key are about all I've got right now. And if a fellow Solo doesn't know who I am then...

[He shrugs, before taking up his glass. Alcohol was definitely necessary.]

[parsec]

[ Her brow furrows. ] You don't know who you are. [ It's not a question - just her realization. this place gets creepier and creepier. ]

Do you remember anything?

[vaderfan]

Being here. Being a guest at this hotel. That's about it.

[Furrowed brows all around. The sting of alcohol isn't really helping with his usual grimace, but he sighs.]

Don't worry about it. Supposed to be on vacation, right? [The sarcasm is strong in him.] I'm sure it's entirely unrelated.

[parsec]

I'm not worried about it. [ she's definitely worried about it. ] And don't make that face.

[ it feels a little too much like the face she makes and that unsettles her and she's honestly got enough of that on her plate. ]

The ad didn't say anything about the weird stuff. This place looked really nice.

[vaderfan]

Yeah, sure you're not. [She's definitely worried about it. The trouble is, Ben can't really stop making that face. All of this unease and not knowing is just driving him up a wall. And here he was drowning his sorrows in alcohol.

Alcohol there's no way he actually has a tolerance for, since Snoke's devoted apprentice surely wouldn't even have time to imbibe, and once he had taken over the role of Supreme Leader?

Well, let's just say he had taken a very active role.]

Generally how they get you, you know. Show you the nice parts, paint a pretty picture, lull you in, and then before you know it, you're falling face first into a sarlacc pit.

[A frown pulls across his mouth. Wait a second, what's a sarlacc pit?]

[parsec]

[ she feels a little sour at that. Hannah should be smarter than this. did she really fall for some sort of elaborate setup? it's not a scam, exactly, she's still got all her creds but Chewie's missing and no one knows anything about it and she's heard people haven't been able to leave the premises. all in all, she's starting to have not a very good feeling about any of it. ]

It's too cold for sarlaccs here. [ but she knows what he means. ] Hard to outsmart us when we know they're trying to outsmart us.

[vaderfan]

[Well, that answers his unspoken question. He's still unsettled by this knowing without knowing, but it's become kind of a routine in the past (however many) days. Either way, he looks at her again.]

Maybe that's not the plan. Could be they don't care if we're onto them, because there's nothing we can do about it.

[Such an optimist.]

[parsec]

[ that's a terrifying way to put it and she tries to not let that particular fear sink in. ]

Or maybe we're both paranoid pessimists. [ she never thought she'd ever want someone to tell her she's overreacting but at least an argument would be a welcome distraction.

a thought: ]

You don't happen to owe anyone a large amount of money, do you?

[vaderfan]

[You're very welcome for the nagging dread, not Mom. If you ever need a top up, he's here all week. Or longer!]

Maybe. [Possible. He doubts it. There's something very off about this place. He can almost feel it in his bones. And then she asks if he owes anyone any money, and fixes her with a pointed look.]

Wouldn't know. Don't remember. [Maybe that was it? Hell if he knew.] Either way, I have a bad feeling about this.