It's all happened before...

[grimgrinningghosts]

[You wake up in a plush bed, well rested but very confused. As you become more conscious, one thing becomes abundantly clear: this is not your room, nor does this look like any bedroom you’ve ever been in before. It’s relatively clean room, but immediately something feels… off about all of this.

When you start exploring, a thing you’ll soon notice is that on the bedside table, there is a room key sitting ontop of a neatly typed note.]

Dear hotel guests,

We cordially invite you to come to the downstairs library at noon for an important meeting regarding your stay in the Hollywood Tower Hotel. Before then, we invite you to make full use of the amenities this hotel has provided for you.

On behalf of the hotel staff, we dearly hope you enjoy your stay in this marvelous hotel.

-HTH Management

[But, as you leave the comfort of your new bedroom, any hope that you somehow booked a hotel room the previous night and just forgot is immediately dashed. It looks like this hotel hasn’t been cleaned in decades, and despite the mention of hotel staff in your note, there doesn’t appear to be anyone working here.

Not to say that you’re alone, however. As you explore the hotel, you’ll soon find that there are 23 others in the exact same situation as you: confused and with no memory of how they got here. And to make matters worse, if the bios you stumble upon in the dining area is anything to go by, this clearly isn't just a freak accident.

Get comfy, because you are all in for a wild ride.]

Comments

[anasty]

[ She leans towards her picture, one finger tapping her chin thoughtfully as she quickly reads it over and frowns. It isn't too bad considering what it could say, but there's one little phrase that sticks in her craw - in pursuit. There's a taunt in that from her incorporeal biographer, and considering she doesn't wear sleeves, there might be something to read there as well.

The most damning thing in regards to anyone who might listen, however, is the song that blasts out of the speakers. Ursula is transfixed by the sound of her own voice... but it's the sound of other one on the track that contorts her face into something even uglier, angrier. ]

[sentree]

[ If only she had her bow and arrows. If only, she'd be notching them up right now, because that is an expression that's almost menacing. Considering she's listening to the song. A sea witch. Is this a minor god of some sort?

If she's not going to pay her any heed, Thalia's going to back away, eyes darting about for anything to help her out with this task. There we are, okay. Okay, demigod reflexes still working right. Keep an eye on Ursula, and...back out of the room...toward the lobby...

...and then come charging back in about thirty seconds later with one of the large ties from the curtains. Time to grapple a sea witch. ]

[anasty]

[ Thalia will find no resistance to her backing out of the room; this was the kind of behavior Ursula expected in her presence when she wasn't in the mood for the sales pitch like what was flooding out of the speaker.

The sound of running footfalls later, however, does get her to finally turn her head. She's annoyed someone is interrupting her brooding, but that annoyance shifts to surprise as she sees the land urchin ( as she has been dubbed ) charging right at her with a rope.

Ursula gasps, beginning a turn towards Thalia, the ends of her tentacles just beginning to rear up like six surprised snakes. The younger has the element of surprise on her side. Where's that rope going? ]

[sentree]

[ Well, now that Ursula's looking at her, the goal is to get her disoriented, physically. The rope itself is for when she (in the planning stages) knocks Ursula off her center and can wrap up all those wriggly tentacles. Thalia's still swift, thankfully, so she'll use the force of her charge to leap and attempt an elbow-in-the-face.

...Of course she doesn't know her strength is massively decreased so that'll be an issue, as she's only a little stronger than mortals instead of overpowered, but well, let's cross that bridge then. ]

[anasty]

[ Ursula has already had a few bad welcomes, but nothing yet beats an elbow to the face.

She flinches back, but it catches her right in her rounded jaw, forcing a scream that's less pained than outraged. How dare you?? ]

GAAAHH!! WHY YOU--!

[ Her hands come up first, having less distance to cover than her tentacles, trying to seize Thalia in her red claws wherever she can while those six appendages swarm up to try and catch at legs. Her first instinct is to try and slam the girl on the ground. ]

[sentree]

[ Things ADHD hinders: school lectures, meetings, general multi-person discussions, tedious tasks.
Things ADHD super helps with: catching sight of multiple appendages trying to ensnare you during battle.

See, demigods may have it rough in conventional society things, but in battles to the death? The whole notices-too-many-things thing kind of saves lives. ...Really saves lives. Like, has saved her life multiple times.

So, it's - ha - a godsend that it's working right now, and she's able to use her momentum to turn her body so the claws miss her, and so she can try to catch the tentacles instead. ]

Nooo you don't, slimy!

[ Let's try to wrap up some of these in that rope! ]

[anasty]

[ Catching a few isn't a difficult task, but holding on is a different matter. Not only are they slick, the tentacles are heavily muscular and jointless; where the rope digs in, the tentacles simply fold over and contort, their ends seeking Thalia's working arms with their gaping and grasping suckers. The demigod will need to keep them from sticking to her while binding her collection with multiple loops to limit their mobility - then she'll need to overpower the not inconsiderable bulge of resistance from the lower portion of the tentacles. Most do make it free for now, two in particular slamming into the floor behind Ursula and yanking her ( them? ) backwards.

The most horrifying aspect of this, perhaps, is that Ursula doesn't seem to necessarily be in control of what her tentacles are doing. She's disoriented, as Thalia intended, snarling and shaking her head, rubbing at her face with one of her hands. ]

INSOLENT BRAT! You'll rue this day!

[ Ursula lashes out with a hand, aiming to try and backhand Thalia while she's busy trying to manage those tentacles. ]

[sentree]

[ It's about right now that Thalia's realizing her whole fight-first, talk-later thing isn't quite working this time. Like, at all. It's an error, she's understanding, caused by how she's used to fighting with at least another hunter at her side; she hasn't been solo in an impossibly long time, she remembers as struggles to keep hold of the writhing, sticky tentacles.

The pulling backwards, that definitely is her undoing. It surprises her, like she'd surprised Ursula, and she yelps as she's pulled along with- and then slapped in the face. A few of the suckers have her arms, though; is the force of the slap enough to dislodge her and send her backward? ]

[anasty]

[ Ursula certainly isn't pulling punches, so to speak. If the force of the slap doesn't send Thalia back, the tentacles will make another good argument. They suction onto the girl's flesh with merciless force, no doubt raising immediate welts as they attempt to pull her down to the ground where she's vulnerable to having more lace around her limbs. Ursula continues to drag herself backwards the whole time, closer to the dining room wall. ]

Having some trouble, dear?

[sentree]

[ Thalia says something, something in a growling hiss in Ancient Greek. No doubt it's something insulting.

She struggles- she should be stronger than this, even with the suction. It's tight on her arms. This isn't right. She's still fast, but- ]

Go back to Tartarus, you overgrown slug.

[ She pulls, and pulls, and pulls against the tentacles, and she tries to kick Ursula in her squishy belly. ]

[anasty]

[ The sea witch laughs, a furious and mocking thing that warbles with the bruising kicks to her belly. Someone does understand Ancient Greek, as well as the reference. ]

Never been, but you know what? I'll bet I can still give you a taste of the Acheron!

[ Thalia yanks on the tentacles and they yank back, stretching the ligaments and tendons at Thalia's joints to a no doubt painful degree while they make to roll her around and around into the thicker parts of themselves. The tentacles are conjoined by the rope, but no less powerful for it. At least on the side that seeks to Thalia like one giant snake doesn't feature the suckers - if she'd let go of the rope she just might manage to wriggle free before they squeeze too tightly.

Meanwhile, Ursula's back tentacles have hit the wall, but that doesn't seem to stop them. They begin to reach up the length of it, smacking against the dry surface hard. ]

[sentree]

[ Oh! Well in that case for specificity's sake, the curse was definitely about eating corpses and being attracted to pigs and something about her appearance? Creative, those Ancient Greeks.

Anyway, with her battle proficiency and her fast-acting mind, it doesn't take Thalia much time at all to see just what she has to do to fix this situation, or at least get at a better standing. Gods, so much of her just wants to go all in and find the most makeshift weapon she can- but really, she knows what to do here. It's not fight, it's defend.

So, with a pained hiss - not a cry, she won't dignify Ursula with one of those - she drops the rope and makes to free herself from the tentacle that wraps about her, before it squeezes her like a burrito. Yes, without the rope it'll make Ursula more mobile, but it'll do her no good to be a squashed demigod. Another kick, if only to distract and draw attention from her arms, and she's...going to try and get those suckers off now. ]

[anasty]

[ The suckers come free with a nasty popping, leaving Thalia's arms pock-marked as she slips free of the fate of constriction. Ursula tilts forward, down towards her, but it's not from the force of the kick.

It's because she's going vertical, climbing up the hotel wall with the assistance of her tentacles suck-popping away at an almost impossible rate considering Ursula's bulk. The ones that had been held by the rope finally spread free with no resistance to hold them.

But it doesn't mean Ursula is really escaping. In fact, she reaches down with one of her hands and tries to snatch up a fistful of Thalia's hair so she can drag her up too. ]

Oh no! You can't be leaving so soon! I don't think you've learned your lesson yet!

[sentree]

[ Oh, well, that simply can't happen, and even though she wouldn't say she's going to win this fight, Thalia still can't help but smirk because the time has come to use her absolute favorite tactic to employ defense-wise. ]

Sorry, not a great student. You'd have to take it up with my dad!

[ At this she taps the silver bracelet on her left wrist, and it expands, in ways it honestly shouldn't, probably. From the bracelet grows a frightening shield. If Ursula is familiar with any other Greek lore, she'll recognize the terrifying face of Medusa, staring back at her. ]

[anasty]

[ It's no Triton's trident, but the sudden appearance of the shield and that ghastly visage serve to shock her back with a gasp and drop Thalia on instinct. She clambers higher up the wall, retreating more than she'd care to admit than gaining a better vantage. ]

Ugly fellow.

[ She growls, making to smack it with one of her tentacles and possibly hit Thalia with the shield in doing so.

Yes, she's being petty. If Ursula were to have a more modern celebrity spin-off name, it'd be Petty Crocker. ]

[sentree]

[ While she may not be used to fighting sea creatures, Thalia is so used to maneuvering with her shield. She's been doing it since she was twelve, after all. So, she pulls the shield back and ducks her head, so the recoil from what does hit it doesn't knock it back into her chin. She pops back up, that smirk growing. ]

Oh, you don't have to lie. It scares everyone. [ Best gift her father ever gave her. ...Only gift, if you discount the pine tree thing which you know she does-

Thalia uses this moment to shuffle back, so she can get out of range of the tentacles. ]

Now, monster. Who do you work for? Why'd you bring me here?

[anasty]

[ She's not going to dignify that goad with anything more than a sneer. Still, her eyes would clearly remain on Thalia than glance back down to the shield. ]

I already knew you must be soft in the head, child, but now I wonder if there's anything in it at all!

I work for myself and, in case you haven't noticed, I'm on the guest list!

[ She jabs a finger violently towards the biographies. ]

[sentree]

[ ...The bios. They're all for the abducted, is that it?

has she reached a horrible misunderstanding- ]

You're kidding me. You monsters all have some kind of...

[ "Never been." Wasn't that what she said? ]

You look like something that would've hunted those like me. But you're not a monster, or...a creature from the Underworld?

[anasty]

[ Well to be fair, she hasn't had time to read all of them because someone rudely interrupted her, but it's what Ursula's extrapolated based on the pictures of the captives she's already met on the way down here. That she could be wrong, she doesn't care. She's running with it.

Seeing Thalia taken aback, she shifts her tone to speak slowly, as if explaining to a toddler. ]

Honey, the only humans I deal with on a regular basis are the ones that float down to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, where I live, and they're practically bone by the time they get there!

[ Okay, so she got a little heated at the end. She has a temper and Thalia's pressed almost every button she has. She's panting now, both from exertion and anger. ]

[sentree]

[ There is a severe amount of oops going on here, and while Ursula's just said some ugly things, the whole Atlantic Ocean but clicks something into place Thalia heard Percy talk about once, of an undersea kingdom and people with fish tails and multicolored skin- ]

You're a merperson. [ From the sound of her song, not a very nice one but that is...so far out of her jurisdiction. Urgh this is...humiliating but she retracts her shield and lowers her head. A sort of half-bow. ] Please forgive my ignorance, sea creature. I am...unfamiliar with subjects of the ocean.

[ She speaks through half-gritted teeth, but it sounds pleasant enough. Swallow all that pride and speak to her carefully; as a lieutenant of Artemis, she's had to do similar things before. ]

[anasty]

[ As much as Ursula usually likes being entreated, she's past the point of even pretending to be magnanimous at this point. She's seething, bunching up against the wall almost like she's getting to pounce. She does. Although she's still stuck to the wall, her torso lurches towards the girl as she bellows: ]

Get out of my sight, you little fool! GET OUT!!

[ And there's a swipe from the red claws at Thalia to emphasize that the sea creature very much wants her space right now. ]

[sentree]

[ As apologetic as she's acting, Thalia is still very much in combat mode so she backsteps away from the swipe and without another word takes that advice. She who turns and runs away, etc.

Hopefully they can find a way out of here without having to interact again. ...Hopefully, but demigod luck usually isn't that good. ]