InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Do as I say, not as I do."

Richie Trashmouth Tozier (trashmouthloser) wrote in snapthread,
@ 2019-10-23 19:28:00

Entry tags:

barbara gordon, dick grayson, eddie kaspbrak, gamewide plot, natasha romanoff (mcu), remus lupin, richie tozier, siri tachi (sw), sirius black

Who: Anyone who wants to have a comfortable but bad time.
What: Some Spoop at the Overlook: Haunted Psychic Hotel of Doom
Where: Sidewinder, Colorado
When: Length of the Halloween Plot.

During the warm summer and spring months, The Overlook Hotel in Sidewinder, Colorado does excellent business: visitors thrive on a wonderful view of the Rocky Mountains while being able to enjoy remote quiet and catered comfort.

In the winter though, the snow is too plentiful and dangerous to allow visitors to come and go freely — and so the Hotel becomes a sleepy quiet place with less than a skeleton staff. The empty halls, fully stocked kitchen and bars and choice pick of rooms should be a delight for anyone who ends up there. But the halls are less empty and quiet than what they might originally appear.

All roads lead to Room 237.

[Party thread rules, tag your threads in the header of your comments, you can set your thread on any day from now until the end of the event]

(Read comments) - (Post a new comment)

Remus / Sirius

beingsirius
2019-10-26 02:59 am UTC (link)

The place was rather empty. It reminded Sirius a bit of Hogwarts during the holiday seasons -- sometimes you could go an entire day without seeing hardly anyone if you timed things right. Not that Sirius had ever been a fan of going entire days without finding people to talk to -- he wasn't built for that kind of quiet, never one to fully enjoy being left with his own thoughts.

But right now it didn't matter anyway, because he had Remus and Remus was the only and the best company he could ever want ask for. So he ignored the empty halls, the strange stillness (the kind that felt sort of falsified) of the place. He had his wand on him and an ego bigger than the ballroom they'd passed by earlier. He wasn't worried.

"That's the same thing as taking it," Sirius reasoned with a shrug, because he didn't see any reason to lie to himself about it. Anyway, places like these could always get more food. Sirius couldn't just go down to the shops to buy a bag of crisps whenever he felt like it. Speaking of, he busied himself with opening up a package of biscuits and offering the first one to Remus. "Don't feel guilty for feeding town, Moony. Here. These've got chocolate on."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Remus / Sirius

lonewolfen
2019-10-28 11:44 pm UTC (link)

Remus could remember those empty days in the castle. Contrary to popular belief, he actually did not care for the quiet. To look at him one would probably think he would've been annoyed with his fellow Marauders constant jabbering, wrestling around, asking him questions or rattling off ideas for the next big prank all while he was trying to read. But truthfully, Remus had loved it dearly. He loved the noise even when it broke his concentration. Sometimes, it actually helped. His friends might've thought he was drowning out their words with the words he was reading in his books but he was actually listening to everything they said, always. The noise meant they were there. The noise meant he had friends. He wasn't alone.

Back home, now, it was too quiet. Always.

But this was home now. Well, not this hotel, but Starklandia. Remus was quite happy to stay. And if they could bring back some food for everyone, then that was great too.

"My hero," he said, reaching for the one Sirius offered him. He didn't make it a habit of taking things but as he said, he didn't think anyone would miss it. "That's good." He finished off the biscuit. "Have one, too, love." Remus smiled at him. Part of him kind of wished that the two of them could be on holiday, staying at a place like this. Or anywhere. A tent, even. Just to get away. "Here, let's put some of this stuff in my bag." He opened the flap of the shoulder bag and set it down. "Maybe we can take some of the utensils too." Now that they'd established they were taking things Remus might as well call it what it was instead of trying to make it sound nicer.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Remus / Sirius

beingsirius
2019-10-29 01:46 am UTC (link)

They'd all known it hadn't really bothered Moony -- all of their talking and laughing and bickering and sometimes even rolling around while play fighting. If Remus had actually been worried about getting work done and being undisturbed, he well knew where the library was and how to use it. And sometimes he had. But most of the time, he was a fine multitasker, and Sirius hadn't missed his secret little smiles when Sirius and James had gotten a little too boisterous. Sirius had kind of lived for those smiles, back then. Had liked imagining they were just for him, even if sometimes they simply hadn't been.

And even now, Remus was something of a bookwork, but he was never bothered by Sirius and the fact that he didn't sit or stand still, that he squirmed around, sat backward and upside down on the couch, moved in and out of Remus' lap on and off and rolled around on the floor like a loon, all while chattering nonstop.

It was just sort of how they were, and it worked.

"Hmm?" Sirius asked, biscuit already squirreled away in his cheek even as he shot Remus a chocolatey sort of grin, and then leaned over to steal a kiss, leaving behind crumbs and chocolate and zero shame at all.

"What should we do after this?" He asked, leaving the biscuits out, but moving to toss all manner of things into Remus' endless charmed bag -- big cans and large and packages of rice and oats and snack foods -- it wasn't like the bag was going to be any heavier when he was done. "Some cooking things," he agreed with a nod, gesturing to the pots and pans. "There're new folks in town rather down on their kitchen luck," he figured out loud -- clearly pleased with Remus having gotten over his concerns on taking.

He paused after tossing another little something into the bag, and mid-bite through another cookie when he heard a clattering noise outside the room they were in. "--The staff?" He wondered lightly.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Remus / Sirius

lonewolfen
2019-10-29 10:59 am UTC (link)

No, Remus was never, ever bothered by Sirius' need for constant motion and stimuli. He was actually often entertained and endeared by it. The need for attention was always given, even in the subtlest ways by raising an eyebrow or more obvious methods like head scratches and cuddles. He could do any of it while still managing to finish whatever chapter of whatever book he was reading.

It worked. It really, really worked. Sometimes Remus wondered if Sirius had any idea how much it meant to him that Sirius loved being around him enough to roll around by him and chatter at him and lay in his lap and prod him for attention. Because Remus really, really did love it.

He shook his head and wiped at his mouth after Sirius gave him a crumb-splattered kiss, laughing a bit as he did so. Indeed, what should they do after this? Explore, was likely the answer. This was new territory and Remus didn't feel particularly ready to look for a way back just yet. "Yes, let's grab some culinary supplies, then maybe explore a bit and--" He too heard the clatter as he dropped a set of pans into the bag.

"Possibly." Remus was folding down the flap of his bag and securing it back around his shoulder. He listened a bit harder, hoping his heightened hearing might pick up on something else as his hand found its way to the handle of his wand in his pocket. He hoped to not have to use it. "Sirius," he whispered. "I think we should go."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Remus / Sirius

beingsirius
2019-10-30 10:23 pm UTC (link)

It wasn't like Sirius was dissecting their own behaviors daily or anything, but he did turn an introspective eye inward every once in a while -- just to make sure everything seemed fine, and that he wasn't being too annoying, or whatever else it was that he worried about sometimes.

And what he mostly got out of it was that he knew he loved being around Remus (because he loved Remus, full stop) and that Remus seemed to love the same thing. Their behaviors were normal for who they were and they just... liked it about each other. So it worked. Really well.

Sirius -- another biscuit half in his mouth, looked over at Remus with an assessing sort of look, and then stood up himself -- reaching for his own wand. Did he think whatever that noise was was a big deal? Not really. But Sirius rarely took much -- well. Seriously. On the other hand, he trusted that Remus had better senses for these sorts of things than he did. So if Remus suggested leaving, he wasn't opposed to that concept. "That's the door, though," he whispered back -- and sure, they could apparate, but in order to do it well they needed a plan first.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Remus / Sirius

lonewolfen
2019-10-31 02:33 pm UTC (link)

The worry-meter in his head was starting to sound the alarm. Remus was pretty sure he and Sirius could fend off anything that presented them any danger but he wasn't entirely sure that was what was on the other side of the door. He just didn't want some staff person to open it, find them stealing, and call whatever sort of authorities were around this place. Granted, there was snow everywhere outside so he doubted anyone would get to them before they could apparate out of there but apparation was a little tricky because he didn't know where they'd be apparating to and that was a little dangerous.

Remus glanced around, noting the windows but not thinking it'd be the best idea to break one and he was still not too quick to want to apparate outside. It was far more likely the door back to town was going to be in this building somewhere. "Lobby," he whispered. Because he could picture it in his head and that was going to be a location where they could head off in another direction. The sounder behind the door was getting a bit louder so Remus took Sirius' hand and squeezed it. "Now." In a crack of sound, they disappeared from the room and wound up in the main lobby -- thank Merlin, without splinching. "Fun as it's been, I think we ought to look for the door."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Remus / Sirius

beingsirius
2019-11-01 01:18 am UTC (link)

No, no splinching at all, and wasn't that a good thing? Sirius looked down at himself, wiped some imaginary dust from his leather jacket and then looked around a little warily. The kitchens were far off from here and there were no noises now, but there was just... something.

Something he didn't like.

"What was that?" He asked instead, frowning. The noise just hadn't been anything he could identify, and Sirius hated not knowing things. Of course, he agreed with the idea that they needed to find the actual door on the way out of here -- the place had an off feeling and they'd already nabbed a lot of stuff. It'd be good to go. So he offered his free, wandless, hand to Remus. "C'mon. There's a lot of doors."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Remus / Sirius

lonewolfen
2019-11-01 09:20 pm UTC (link)

Remus felt very unsettled. He wasn't scared, exactly. There wasn't a reason for that just yet. They hadn't even really been presented with any sort of real danger. Just sounds. Scared wasn't the right word for it. Just... yes, unsettled. He couldn't stop thinking about what could happen and while that was kind of normal for Remus being the eternal planner of their tight-knit group, it still felt very off.

He shook his head when Sirius asked what that had been, because he didn't have an answer and that was also very unsettling for someone who usually had an answer for everything. Remus took Sirius' hand and laced their fingers a little tighter than he would have under normal circumstances. He just didn't want to get separated. "I hate to say we'll need to try them all, but.." They were both highly skilled wizards. Sirius, even younger than him now, was still very gifted in what he could do and Remus knew his own skill set was highly advanced, more than what most people would realize or give him credit for. He had no doubt that they could face anything together. What was unnerving was that he didn't know if they had to yet. The wondering, the uncertainty, it made him feel queasy.

"This hallway looks endless," he said, very quietly. "How many rooms must this place have?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Re: Remus / Sirius

beingsirius
2019-11-03 02:12 am UTC (link)

Sirius wasn't really the sort to get scared about things, so yeah. He wasn't, not really. And while he wasn't the nervous or planning type, he knew Remus well enough to know when something was a real issue to him or if he was just digging his heels in and complaining because he was a little uncomfortable.

This wasn't Remus doing his own small sort of dramatics. This was a real concern and so Sirius took it seriously. .... Siriusly.

As seriously as he could, anyway.

"I suppose we've got to," he agreed, frowning. Because yeah, there were a lot of doors and this was just one floor. "We can go fast. You start at one end and I'll start at the other." That way they could still see each other, but get twice the amount of work in at the same time. "Yeah?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Remus / Sirius

lonewolfen
2019-11-05 01:31 am UTC (link)

Remus did tend to worry a great deal (he had to, given that Sirius and James rarely ever did), but there was a grave difference between him worrying about getting caught by a Hogwarts professor, and -- well, whatever this was. Something simply wasn't right about this hotel. It was blatantly clear to him now and they really needed to just get out of there.

Working from opposite ends could get the job done faster, but it also gave Remus pause. The thought of separating, even while still within eyesight of each other made him uncomfortable. "I don't know," he said. He'd not yet let go of Sirius' hand and he was very hesitant to do so, though he knew he'd have to if they wound up needing to fend off something with their wands. "I.. I suppose, it would make things go faster I just -- Okay, but move quickly, Padfoot."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Remus / Sirius

beingsirius
2019-11-07 03:35 am UTC (link)

"I don't move in any other way," Sirius said, and yeah, he'd seen Remus' pause, seen the hesitation and the worry there. But it really was just down the hall. They could see that far. It'd be fine. And Remus must have agreed eventually if he actually went with it.

He pressed a kiss to the tip of Remus' nose and then apparated with a crack to the end of the hall, wand out and ready to give a good alohomora to every lock he came up against.

The first few doors had nothing behind them but boring rooms, nothing special.

The third was... different. It had writing across the wall, big. Red. Sirius wasn't really sure it was anything remotely near crayon or paint. His fingers slid off of the doorknob and he stared for a long moment.

What the bloody hell was REDRUM meant to mean, anyhow?

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Remus / Sirius

lonewolfen
2019-11-08 06:30 pm UTC (link)

Moving quickly was the only option. Remus didn't want to open any of the doors because Merlin only knew what was on the other side of any of them but he knew that there was no other way. There was also no guarantee that any of them would yield any type of result that they wanted but again -- what choice did they have? What if one of them, even the very first one he tried, was their way back to town? It was certainly not impossible, even if it felt bleak.

The little kiss was a comfort, but when Sirius apparated to the other side of the hall he just felt cold. Remus took a shaky breath to try to calm himself, and focus. He needed to pull it together and just do what needed to be done here. He'd seen worse. He'd been in much worse situations than this. But that was usually alone, and in this case having Sirius with him made the danger factor spike because he feared for him too, no matter how capable of a wizard Sirius Black was.

It wasn't often that Remus tended to show off his wandless skills but in this situation he needed to move as fast as possible. So one by one, he looked at a door, focused, and unlocked it. Nothing. Nothing again. Nothing a third time. But after the third time he hesitated because he hadn't heard any other doors. Sirius had stopped. "Padfoot..?" He turned to look down the hall and saw him staring. "What...?" He hurried down the hall. "What is it..?" He turned to look at the door and he immediately saw exactly what REDRUM was. He was the clever one of the group, after all.

"Oh my god," he whispered. He waved his hand and the letters magically flipped themselves around to spell MURDER. "Did you unlock it?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Remus / Sirius

beingsirius
2019-11-09 02:34 am UTC (link)

It wasn't like Sirius wasn't clever -- but Remus always had been better at puzzles, all while Sirius usually stood around and complained about the design of them before he bothered attempting to figure them out at all. In this instance, it was because he was rather surprised by the sheer amount of blood it might take to write something like that on a wall so largely.

He glanced over at Remus, grey eyes gone solemn, without humor. This hotel was not for them, but it was certainly possible the note was. MURDER. No. He'd been avoiding that, and intended to keep his streak up. "The door?" He asked, quiet. "Yes." He hadn't stepped in. He didn't want to either. But there was also something -- something in him that sort of felt like he ought to, just the same.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Remus / Sirius

lonewolfen
2019-11-12 01:06 am UTC (link)

Sirius was quite clever. It just came out in a different way, not quite as obvious as Remus' cleverness. But Remus would always attest to how brilliant Sirius Black was in every way. Biased or not, it was the truth. He had no doubt eventually Sirius would've rearranged the letters himself.

Now, the real question was, should they open it? Because they absolutely should not, according to Remus' worries. No, they shouldn't open a door that spelled out the reversed word 'MURDER' in blood. By all accounts that was a terrible idea. Yet at the same time, fighting tooth and nail through his paranoia and fears of what might be on the other side and going through an impossibly high number of horrific scenarios of what they might find -- that tiny voice of reason was shouting at him what if it's the right door? Because something so obviously horrible could very well be the way out, given how twisted this magic of the doors could be.

"I think we have to open it."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Remus / Sirius

beingsirius
2019-11-13 11:05 pm UTC (link)

They probably shouldn't. Remus looked hesitant which usually meant something was a bad idea. Sirius wasn't feeling great about it either, but it wasn't as if things like this -- mysteries -- didn't usually lead to some kind of answer. Maybe not good ones, but -- well. Sometimes knowing was better than not.

"Not on," he murmured, but flicked his wand at the door anyway, effectively pushing it open.

It was dark in there, and something felt heavy, and it wasn't wise for either of them to be without a hand to defend themselves, so Sirius only pushed himself closer to Remus, until their shoulders were touching, and they stepped in together.

"Lumos," he murmured, pulling up a light.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

(Read comments) -