Hotel Sanguine

## Plot Summary

A human guest enters the Hotel Sanguine and meets Achiro, the head clerk, who happily signs them in and tells the Listener a few rules about the establishment.

After only 10 minutes in their room they answer a knock at the door and meet Briar, one of the fae, their neighbor and one of the permanent residents of the hotel. Though they are alarmed by the bloodstain on his shirt and his casual attitude towards violence they have no choice but to accept his invitation for a drink so they can get to know each other better. He is very interested in getting to know them better, seeing a light in their eyes that calls to him.

The Listener goes to the jazz lounge to wait for Briar and meets the eldritch bartender, Cthutt. He makes a drink for them and takes their measure, finding more than he usually does in a mortal soul. He gives the Listener two pieces of advice. First, don't trust Briar. Second, they will have to make a choice to either stay or leave the Hotel Sanguine. They have been marked, no matter what they choose, and they will always be connected.

That night their sleep is restless and they suffer from sleep paralysis, but a shadow person, Dormeo, comes to their aid and protects them from the more malicious creatures that would prey on a human trapped in their sleep. He explains a little about why they are fitting in so well in the hotel's dark corners and stays by their side until they relax enough to wake up.

The Listener nervously explores the hotel on their own and meets the other permanent residents. In the restaurant they meet Killian, a charming fallen angel and the hotel's musician, but gets lost in the card lounge. Villix, the hotel's card dealer, invites them to take a rest and reads their future using tarot cards. The Listener learns that they are on a path heading towards a final choice between darkness and light. They mystic tries to warn them who to trust in the hotel but he's interrupted by a supernatural message - the owner wants to meet with them.

The Listener meets Levi, the mysterious and secretive hotel owner. He's taken notice of them, a human who's attracted several permanent residents like a moth to a flame. Like so many others he sees potential in them, even one day a place by his side, and makes an offer - become a permanent resident to learn anything they want from the others and he will give them his name. The Listener accepts.

After this they continue to explore the hotel more confident and comfortable with the dark strangeness they encounter. They meet Killian again and discovers the theater in the basement where Volo, one of the oldest permanent residents, dwells.

They meet Briar once they come out and he tries to rope them into another date since they never met up for drinks. Instead they tell him they want to leave the hotel, leaving the fae shocked, but he drops hints that he knows how they can get out. Not only that, he will tell them how to leave and bring one other person along if they will give him their name. The Listener eventually gives in and Briar, gratified by the taste of their name, tells them to go find the first person they met in the hotel to show them the way. He also warns the Listener to run because they no longer have Leviathan's protection now that they want to leave and he's giving them a headstart.

## The Listener

* A human who doesn't have a reservation and stays in Room 64, a large double room.

* Has only been in the hotel for 10 minutes before Briar shows up. They are alarmed/suspicious of things like bloodstains and unexpected razor blades.

* Has found their experience in the Hotel Sanguine stressful enough that it triggers sleep paralysis.
* They don't sense any malice in Dormeo, allowing them to gradually relax around him.
* They have an attractive energy which explains why so many hotel denizens have talked to them.
* Their childhood home was a quiet place surrounded by trees and flowers. There was a lot of space to play and there was a pond with little fish that they would feed and watch as if hypnotized.

* Is visibly nervous exploring the hotel on their own though they have acclimated by the second time they go to the restaurant.
* Killian calls them a creative soul and is surprised they are "only" a human for the spirit within them has the intensity of a fallen angel's repressed fury.
* Isn't perturbed by an invasion of their personal space, even asking Killian to come closer during his piano lesson. They accept his physical closeness when he initiates it too but become flustered when he overtly flirts with them.
* Cares enough about Killian to worry about the state of his wings and insists they be allowed to help take care of them.
* Surprised that the Divine would punish a fallen angel with eternal pain.
* Learned how to play the piano rather quickly. It's unknown if they knew how to play piano before and lied about so they could spend time with Killian or if they were supernaturally gifted at playing "their" music.

* Is visibly shaken from being lost since Villix describes them as pale.
* Villix sees an insatiable curiosity in their aura that drives them to discover every mystery they encounter. He also describes it as a supernova that lights up the darkness.
* No line of dialogue in this or any other video confirms if the Listener took Villix's offered card.

* Levi sees in the Listener equal potential for light and darkness, supporting Villix's reading.
* Is brave enough to try and negotiate with a demon.
* Levi sees temptation as their greatest strength. This could mean that the Listener is a temptation (see the reaction of the hotel to their presence) or that they are especially vulnerable to temptation (see Villix's reading and the constant reference to a spark/fire in their eyes).

## Fan Theories

* The hotel exists in the Underworld and humans who end up as guests here are actually dead.