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thelampisaflashlight · 10 months

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The Hotel Saturn Pt 1: Welcome

[Welcome to The Hotel Saturn, make yourself comfortable, you might just want to stay forever. Selen just wanted a break from the road.] Below the cut.

Taking in the sights and sounds, and, indeed, smells, of The Hotel Saturn, Selen cannot help but think coming here was a mistake.

The place looks like it hasn't been updated since the 1960's, vintage stains included, and reeks of old, wet tobacco and some kind of generic Lysol-like cleaner.

"Not too late to say fuck it and sleep in the van..." she mumbles under her breath, cringing slightly as the aggressively turquoise -Maybe teal? Cheryl is the one who can tell the difference, it's all just green or blue to her.- crunches under her boots.

Disgusted, Selen glances around the room, looking for her bandmates, but, much to her disappointment, all of them have abandoned waiting in line to be seen at the front desk -and her- in favor of milling about the lobby.

Cheryl, carrying around her fluffy, pink half jacket in her arms, heart-shaped sunglasses perched on the top of her head, is admiring some of the art hanging on the walls, which Selen has to admit is rather lovely... if not a bit macabre.

Aaron, holding half the band's bags and looking quite calm about it, is stood near the front door, looking outside at the virtually empty parking lot, eyes fixed on... something. It's hard to tell from a distance what he's looking, if he's looking at anything at all.

Clair, sat on a strangely patterned couch -Selen thinks it's called... paisley?- is scrolling through his phone, looking tense, and beside him, no doubt the reason for his unease, is Lukas.

Lukas...

Yeah, Selen would rather not look at him right now, or ever quite frankly, so whatever he's doing, she doesn't give a damn, but given Clair's expression, he's probably talking his ear off about something.

Honestly, she isn't even sure why Lukas is here.

This trip was just supposed to be the four of them, and then...

"He's my sister's fiancé's younger brother, they pretty much bullied me into letting him come." Clair had explained, annoyed, but giving a shrug, "He's studying audio engineering or something, I dunno."

"Do we really want some rando with us in the van for the next, like, month?" Cheryl had questioned, "I dunno about you boys, but I'm not exactly comfortable with that. Like, what's he even going to do?"

"He's not a complete stranger, Cherie, he's my future brother-in-law's brother, and, besides, he already knows Selen." Clair pointed out, gesturing towards her, "They went to the same college, they even had classes together, isn't that right?"

"I-"

Selen shakes her head, bringing herself back to the present, curling her hands into tiny fists in her pockets, the bite of her nails into her palm keeping her grounded.

It's no use in reflecting on that conversation or dwelling on the past in general, but...

She looks over at Lukas again.

His attention is still directed towards Clair, who just seems to be nodding along to whatever Lukas is saying, his gaze remaining glued to his phone.

Returning to watching the line, Selen can now see a man in a burgundy track suit with prominent dark circles under his eyes discussing something rather quickly with the person working the front desk, gesturing back and forth between himself and the group of people clustered around him.

Beside the man stands another, much taller, beefier looking man who seems to be explaining things as the shorter gesticulates wildly.

Before too long, the front desk worker grabs a series of keys off of a rack hanging behind them and drops them onto the counter, turning away from both of them to type something into their computer, ignoring the boisterous man and his... bodyguard?

Selen gives the crowd time to disperse slightly before approaching the desk, finding that the counter itself comes up to her chest.

It had seemed so much shorter with the two men standing in front of it...

Her head barely pokes over the back of the computer monitor, and Selen finds she has to stand on her toes to be seen, almost startling the front desk worker out of their seat.

"Sorry." she apologizes quickly, a bit red in the face from embarrassment, "Um..."

The worker sighs and places a hand on their chest.

"It's fine." they say, sounding tired.

Selen tries not to take it personally, especially seeing what they've just had to deal with.

"Welcome to the Hotel Saturn, how may I be of service this afternoon?" they ask, rolling back slightly in their chair to get a better angle on Selen.

"Ah, yes, um... My friends and I would like to..." she briefly struggles to find the word she wants to use, "...rent a couple rooms if at all possible?"

"How many rooms will be needed?" the worker asks.

"There's five of us so... three would be ideal."

"And how long will you be staying with us?"

Selen thinks for a moment.

They have to head to their next show the day after tomorrow, but she's not quite sure how... how this is supposed to work in all honesty.

Do you rent the room for the morning and evening separately?

Would it count as two days and two nights?

"Um..." Selen counts on her fingers, "Well... we, we would like to stay tonight, tomorrow, and the morning of the day after so... um..."

The worker smiles, trying to appear reassuring, but in the back of Selen's mind it only shows her that she's royally flubbing this interaction.

"We can arrange that, yes." they say, checking their computer again, frowning, "Ah... Unfortunately it seems we only have one room currently available, but it does have two double beds and a sofa, would that work?"

"Well..." Selen considers the sleeping arrangements for a moment, so long as Aaron and Clair share one bed, and her and Cheryl get the other, Lukas can sleep on the couch so... "That sounds fine."

"Alright then, I just need you to fill out some paperwork-"

"I am NOT sleeping on the couch." Lukas whines almost immediately upon hearing Selen's proposed set-up, "I already had to sleep sitting up in the passenger seat of the van, I deserve to sleep in a real bed!"

"We've all been sleeping in the van." Cheryl points out, rolling her eyes.

"Guys, I'll sleep on the couch, Lukas can share with Aaron." Clair says, taking the room key from Selen.

"I don't want to share a bed with a guy either." Lukas huffs, then smirks, looking at Selen and Cheryl, "Maybe one of you lovely la-"

"Clair, tell your stupid ass soon to be bitch-in-law that if he even thinks about crawling into my bed at night, I'm going to neuter him on the spot." Cheryl threatens.

"Can we not fight about this in the middle of a hallwa-" Clair starts, but gets cut off by Aaron slipping the key out of his hand and handing it back to Selen, who stares up at him in confusion.

"Cheryl and Selen should get their own bed, Clair and Lukas, you two can either man up and share the other one or one of you can sleep on the couch." he says, sounding rather bored by their antics, "I'm going to sleep outside in the van, keep an eye on our equipment. I know we're out in the middle of nowhere, but that's even more reason to be cautious."

"Aaron, you really don't have to sleep in the van, man, I could..." Clair trails off, then smiles suddenly, "Thanks, man."

"No problem." Aaron waves him off dismissively, then crouches down slightly to whisper in Selen's ear, "...There's enough room in the back if you decide to say fuck it and sleep in the van, too."

Selen shivers.

"D-Don't stay up too late." she stammers.

"No worries, girlie, I won't." he hums, standing back up straight, rolling his shoulders, "Right, you guys get settled, I'm gonna see what this place has to offer in terms of recreation, seeing as we're going to be here for a little while, might as well make use of that time wisely..."

"This room smells funky." Aeon hums nervously, looking down at the tacky yellow carpeting, "Like the cigarettes Swiss smokes..."

"So weed?" Dew snorts, going through his duffle bag, "Yeah, yeah, that and, mn..."

Dew sniffs.

"Dryer lint."

"That has a smell??" Aeon chirps, going over to the window to look outside, "They have a tennis court and... oh, a pool house! We could go swimming!"

"It's probably not super well maintained, and I don't think we'll have much time to play around..." Dew points out, "This is work, even if it feels like a vacation."

"Oh..." Aeon frowns, "R-Remind me what we're supposed to... supposed to do again?"

Dew takes a pouch out of his bag and tosses it to Aeon, who scrambles to catch it.

"You, my young friend, are going to go take pictures of the hotel, and be casual about it so staff doesn't get suspicious and think we're casing the joint...." the older ghoul pulls out a notebook, a roll of tape, and a pen from his bag and throws them onto Aeon's bed, "Take notes, write down anything suspicious you see, tape the pictures into the notebook-"

"Couldn't we just use a digital camera or, like, our phones for this...?" Aeon questions, examining the polaroid camera in his hands, "Why are we going... retro?"

"Physical evidence is more reliable than digital when it comes to capturing these fuckers." Dew says, "Besides, fits the aesthetic."

Aeon fiddles with the camera, holding it up facing Dew, "Cheese?"

Dew smirks, wincing slightly as the flash goes off.

Zzzt...

Fwip.

Aeon waits for the photo to develop, eyes going wide when he looks at it, "Dew, there's-!"

"A weird aura around me, right?" He says, motioning outward, "The camera has a mild enchantment on it, so the lens can 'see' what we can't see with the naked eye... only flaw is that it still needs regular film, so don't just point and shoot at anything."

"What should I take photos of?" Aeon asks, flipping the camera around to take a picture of himself, curious about what his aura looks like.

Zzzt...

Fwip.

"Try to get wide shots of the rooms you pass through, hallways, both ends, and any mirrors that are facing each other, or a doorway."

"Why?"

"Mirrors can act as portals for spirits and other entities to pass through." Dew explains, "Even you could probably do it with some practice, but you'd have to ask Aether about how to do it since it's a quintessence thing."

"Oh." Aeon looks at his photo, "...Is this normal?"

"Show me."

Aeon hands the picture over to Dew, who purses his lips.

"I'm afraid there's something awful in this photo."

"Oh no!" Aeon squirms, "What is it??"

"A dorky little kit."

"Hey!"

After receiving further instructions from Dew, Aeon sets off to explore the hotel. Despite his teasing, the older fire ghoul really is a good teacher and a surprisingly caring mentor in general, even if he could come off a bit snarky at times.

"You have big shoes to fill." He'd told him backstage before his first show, hands firmly on Aeon's shoulders, "Aeth is a fan favorite and you're coming out in the wake of his retirement, so the crowd is going to be rough. It's always hard, but when you're the new guy... it's worse. Don't let the crowd win, give it your all and make the stage your bitch!"

It was Dew's confidence in him early on that let him feel a little less awkward in general.

He's kind of like an older brother in a way, which is why it doesn't feel like too much of a stretch to pretend like he is for the sake of their mission.

"As far as the staff is concerned, we're having a family reunion." Papa had explained as they arrived at the hotel, having all arrived in groups of two to four, spaced out over the course of several hours to make it seem more legitimate that they were all coming from different places instead of coming directly from the abbey together.

"Our goal is to document any and all supernatural happenings at the hotel and, with any luck, find and eliminate the cause should anything... demonic... be lurking within these walls."

"Aren't we demonic things lurking within these walls then?" Aurora had asked, sparing Aeon the embarrassment of asking himself, "Like... aren't we for demons?"

"This is different." Aether chimed in, standing beside Papa, "The entities we are hunting were summoned through unsanctioned rituals and blood pacts, and mean to do harm to the living, ourselves included, as well as bring harm to whatever spirits might be trapped here on the surface."

"More often than not, these creatures seek to create disorder and chaos, but they do not do it to further the dark lord's ideals or to bring forth Hell on Earth, they do so for selfish means and to grow in power in hopes of overtaking the throne."

"...And we have to do this... why?" Aeon had finally asked, looking at the gathered ghouls nervously, "Like, why us specifically?"

"Ghouls are more durable than humans." Aether answered plainly, "If we sent the siblings to deal with possible infestations, the mortality rate would skyrocket, and, crucially, most humans cannot see the things we can. The only exception being psychics or seers, or those granted 'sight' by incantations or prayer."

"I don't know if I'm qualified for this..." Aeon mumbles, back in the present, the camera hanging around his neck bouncing slightly against his chest as he makes his way downstairs and into the lobby again.

He'd taken a picture of the space from above, but something in the corner caught his eye even before the photo fully developed.

Two women, one very tall and dressed in an outfit that Aeon can only describe as "Barbie-esque" -very pink would be another way to put it, but the first thought he had upon seeing it was "Ah, like Barbie."- with a short, brown buzzcut, and another, far shorter one, dressed almost entirely in black, save for the purple sunglasses she's wearing and the bright white boots on her feet, stand admiring a series of framed pictures on the wall.

At first, he hadn't noticed anything off about the pair, but something about the shorter of the two, the thin bubble around her in the polaroid...

Aeon finds himself heading down the staircase before his mind can really process if it's a good idea to approach the two or not.

"This one, the smaller piece here, is a replica of Femmes au jardin, Women in the garden, by Claude Monet, with some creative liberties taken..." the taller says, "And- Oh, hello."

Aeon stumbles over his feet, catching himself on the back of the ornate chair in front of him, "H-Hello, um, I couldn't help but overhear... uh... I..."

"Are you interested in the paintings here, too?" she asks, saving him from his own tongue, "They're impressive, no?"

Aeon nods.

"I... I wasn't sure, or rather, how... how can you tell they're not original works?" he asks, trying to make conversation.

"For some of them it's obvious, you wouldn't find, say this one here." She extends a finger towards a framed painting beside the one they're currently viewing, "This is a carefully painted copy of the Spanish painter Francisco Goya's painting known as, El Perro, The Dog. It's one of fourteen paintings known as The Black Paintings that Goya painted directly onto the walls of his home., hence why this is obviously a replica."

Aeon takes in the image, it seems rather simple, and yet...

"The dog seems so sad..."

"People have debated over the meaning, it really depends on how you view the dog's role in the piece, though none of them are particularly happy... I was just saying it seemed an odd choice for the lobby of a hotel, but I guess it's a matter of taste." she shrugs, then turns to him with a smile, "Almost forgot to introduce myself, Cheryl."

She offers him her hand.

"A-Aeon." he says, shaking her hand, "And your friend?"

The smaller woman hasn't said a thing or acknowledged him since he approached them initially, seemingly lost in the artwork before her.

"Ah, this is Selen, she's acting like she's interested, but she actually finds this sort of talk very boring, don't you?" Cheryl teases, pinching the other's cheek.

"I-I don't... I just don't understand all of the fancy words you wind up using!" Selen pouts, her speech a bit slurred by Cheryl's grip on her face, "...But I do know what I like, and I can't say I enjoy these... hoity-toity pieces, they're too fancy or have weirdly grim meanings..."

Cheryl sighs, letting go of her friend's face, then glances down at the camera around Aeon's neck.

"A bit of a shutterbug?" she asks, and Aeon startles a bit.

"Oh, um, not really, my... my brother handed me this and told me to take pictures of the hotel." he says, holding up the camera, then whispers, "...I think that may have just been an excuse to get me to leave him alone now that I think about it."

Cheryl laughs.

"So, family trip?"

He nods.

"I saw him come in with that big group earlier." Selen says, side-eyeing him.

"A-Ah, yeah, that's my family haha... The Saturn was where my grandparents met, so it's, I guess our Pa-" Aeon coughs, "Our dad wanted to come here since Gramps passed recently."

"Aw..." Cheryl pats his shoulder.

"And you? What brought you here?"

Selen turns and points at a lanky man in a polo shirt with the collar flipped up.

"That douchey looking guy over there."

"Selen, be nice..."

Aeon bites his tongue.

He... the guy does look kind of... kind of...

"A-Ah."

"Ignore Selen." Cheryl says, giving Selen a look before the shorter shrugs and walks off to look at a different painting over on the opposite wall, "We're on a road trip, kind of. We're checking out hotels in on the way to some venues, see which ones are the best bang for our buck, ya know? But so far we've just wound up sleeping in the car."

"Venues... Oh, um, are you seeing a band perform?" he asks, tilting his head curiously.

Cheryl shrugs, "Mn, kind of."

Kind of.

Huh.

"T-That's neat, um, so I..." Aeon taps his fingers on the camera anxiously, "Uhh..."

"Aeon!"

Oh thank fuck.

Swiss bounces over to his side and swings an arm around his shoulders.

"Pops wants us to meet up at the tennis court in an hour, get a photo for Grandma." he says, giving him a squeeze before letting him go, "So get a move on, yeah, kid?"

Aeon flushes.

"Y-Yeah, sure."

Swiss ruffles his hair and heads off, saying something about going to find Rain.

"Is that the brother you mentioned?" Cheryl asks, lowering her sunglasses to peek over at Swiss' retreating figure.

"H-He's one of my brothers, but not the one who gave me the camera." Aeon says, "I... I should get a move on, haha..."

"You do that. It was nice meeting you, Aeon, hopefully we get a chance to talk again before the end of our stays here, and if we do..." Cheryl says, then, eyeing Swiss once more before he full disappears around the corner, "Bring your brother."

Aeon can't leave quick enough.

"That guy was weird." Selen whispers, hanging off of Cheryl's arm nervously, "Did you see his camera? What if he was taking pictures of us before he came down the stairs?"

"I mean it's possible, but he seems like he's on the level. Some people are just awkward like that..." Cheryl says, "Even you have trouble striking up conversations with strangers unless the other person initiates it first."

"Mn, but..."

Cheryl pokes Selen in the forehead with one of her long, pink acrylic fingernails.

"Ow! Cheryl..."

"You have to admit he was kind of cute though." Cheryl hums, "And his brother-"

Selen furrows her brow and frowns.

"He was not..."

"Not your type?"

"It's..." she shakes her head, "He's not cute at all."

"What?? He's adorable."

"Nope."

"Not even a little?"

Selen pouts.

"Haahh... I still have no idea what your type is, your bestie should know these things, you know! I mean, you know MY type!" Cheryl cries.

"Because your 'type' changes depending on who's ass you saw most recently-"

Cheryl gasps in mock surprise.

"That's so-" she pauses to watch a passing staff member walk by, "-true, but don't read me like that in public, Muffins, or everyone will know. Still... if you told me what you like, I could set you up with someone~?"

"I'm not interested in dating." Selen adjusts her sleeves.

"Doesn't have to be anything long term, if you're just looking to get laid-"

"Cheryl!" Selen flusters, "You can't just say that so casually!"

"What? People hook up all the time and it doesn't have to mean anything." Cheryl says, reaching into her pocket for her phone, "I bet if I checked one of the dating apps I have on here right now, this place would be absolutely full of people looking to bang-"

"Don't..." Selen groans, burying her face in her hands.

"Oh, wow, even the tips of your ears are red." Cheryl coos, "You're so shy about this stuff, but didn't Aaron invite you back to the van later tonight?"

"Cheryl..."

"Oh don't be so coy, I saw what you put in your bag before we left the apartment, and I'm fine with whatever you two have going on so long as it doesn't impact the band or our friendship, yeah?"

Cheryl holds out her pinkie, "Promise me it won't?"

Selen blows a stray hair out of her face and links her finger with Cheryl's.

"So is he going to carry you back to the room after he blows your back out or should I not expect to see you until breakfast-"

"Ch-...I wonder if they have pancakes..."

"Noted."

#lamp writes #nameless ghouls #aeon ghoul #dewdrop ghoul #aether ghoul #swiss ghoul #copia #ghost band #ghost bc #the band ghost #ghost band fanfic #ghost band oc #the hotel saturn #This is the tame 'calm before the storm' part

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