A NINE STORY HOTEL CAST LIST
People have been asking, so here's the short version!
(the original picture inspiring the 9 Story Hotel project, sourced from , original source lost to the net)
ORIGINAL WORKING DOC
This is a straight copy of the original working document of the 9 Story Hotel. Since then it has migrated to Sheets and then Notion, but mostly in our heads. (Except the architecture of the lobby and layout of the hotel, I can draw that for you from memory, I came up with it accidentally.)
For those of you who were asking for a cast list. These are ALL the current primaries minus like, Abdiel? But I think
’s story that made a best in fic weekly showed who he is.(Concept originally from the mind of
, developed with , , , , , , , and lovely early boost from the unimpeachable horror writer , with reluctant input and emeritus status as hotel founding member belonging by defacto decision of WCB and me and everyone else to )-Narrative Logistics Of The 9-
how is this going to work exactly. what happens if character X gets whacked in one story but is still walking around in another.
and a million or so other questions come to mind, I know.
safe to assume that for the purposes of the anthology, most if not all of the primary characters have arrived at the hotel at the same point in time on a job or mission or personal vendetta. they have come to kill or abduct someone or steal something. or extract data from someone.
some will succeed, some won't.
on a metal plate in Arthur's office are scratched the following house rules,
if they qualify as rules.
everyone at the 9 gets what they need.
some get what they want.
some what they deserve.
some leave in a box.
some disappear down drain in boiler room.
some never leave at all.
I don't think it's unworkable if two writers choose the same primary,
but they would certainly want to cooperate
and communicate about where they intend to go with that
Character.
ideally we will have one writer take on each of the characters.
if anyone wants to take on more than one, that's an option too.
anyway. shotgun rules. first dibs. stake a claim.
I will be recruiting at least two editors or producers to help keep things sorted, but my gut response is the photo negative overlay metaphor, which may be easier to visualize if you've ever been in a darkroom but think of dozens of photo negatives of the same image same room or garden but each with changes, alterations. Furniture and people rearranged animals that appear and disappear, or a corpse or pool of blood appears in one negative but not the next.
Now lay all the negatives one on top of the other.
speaking of, may add a few animals to the mix.
also realized I'm seeing this as a sort of video game in literary form in my head, a game where the operator slash reader gets to play the game from pov of any of the characters below.
at first glance a handful of the characters might seem unkillable.
Arthur, Balthazar, the proprietor for instance. Evangeline and the Horseman.
no one is beyond killing. I don't believe in plot armor.
CAST: Format (Name or alias-flavor text-pic)
OWNER OF THE 9
The Proprietor:
the man or woman seated wearing hat in this photo is the hotel 9 owner and sole proprietor.
nobody knows where this person lives. nobody knows their name. nor what they look like aside from what may be gleaned from this photo.
presumably there is high level yakuza and or deep state level intelligence affiliation of some sort but maybe not.
the proprietor is the only person alive who frightens Arthur.
identity of the swimmer is unknown but I suspect it's Evangeline.
Regulars & Staff
Rufus Balthazar:
aka the prospector. a regular at the 9 story. only known photo. the assassin the other assassins are afraid of
Arthur Pinch:
Arthur is officially the hotel 9 concierge. aka the extractor. if you need data retrieved from a subject Arthur is the man.
his methods are ruthless.
invasive.
excruciating.
if you need the subject to walk speak or eat solid food post data extraction, you may want to first engage his sidekick Grim.
note. Arthur's fees are exorbitant. nonnegotiable. paid up front. worth every penny.
Grim:
girl Friday to Arthur Pinch. official hotel duties unknown. innocent at first glance but not to be trifled with.
moonlights as dungeon master slash torturer.
her methods are said to be more refined and subtle than Arthur's but equally painful in the end and highly effective.
Bosch:
arms dealer and human trafficker.
filthy rich.
volatile and unpredictable
psychopath.
homicidal to nth degree.
one of the few hotel 9 regulars who kills for sport.
despised by Pinch and Balthazar.
avoided like plague dog by most everyone else.
has some nebulous connection to the proprietor.
probably why he's still alive.
Moxie:
thief. shadow walker. high altitude cat burglar extraordinaire.
on the run.
wanted by Interpol, FBI, scotland yard, mossad among others.
never captured. never fingerprinted. no DNA profile.
independent but said to be on retainer with most feared cartel in South America.
according to Arthur Pinch she is the most dangerous person
in the hotel.
Althea Parker:
contract killer. aka the alchemist.
never uses a gun. her preference is up close knife work. will arrange for killings that appear accidental upon request, at a considerable fee. also a skilled chemist slash poisoner.
always stays in room 7 on the 9th floor.
rumored to be Balthazar's daughter.
Delphine:
assassin and sometimes consort to Balthazar.
specialty is long range sniper.
speaks a dozen languages.
plays the piano with concert level skill.
according to Balthazar she is the most stone cold ruthless killer in the building.
Malick:
muscle. aka the plumber.
prefers to work with his hands. carries a tool box. according to his business card no job is too unpleasant.
performs routine wet work and disposal.
on retainer as hotel security slash enforcer.
loyal to Arthur but regards Balthazar as family.
Luxe:
jack or jill of all trades.
known to be a highly skilled hacker
slash cyber terrorist.
arrived at hotel with Bosch but their relationship is rocky.
volatile personality.
Tuesday and the Knife:
thieves. grifters. gamblers. next level con artists.
infamous brother sister team.
specializing in disguise, subterfuge, misdirection, card tricks, and general mind
fuckery.
background and country of origin unknown
Moira:
officially employed as hotel housekeeper.
thief. aspiring assassin.
nymphomaniac.
besties with Grim.
practicing to be a dungeon master.
seen here off duty.
the Horseman:
or just the Horse. aka the freelancer.
proper name unknown.
objective, provenance and exact whereabouts likewise unknown.
the Horse is always in the hotel.
nobody sees or speaks to him but Arthur.
not everyone believes him to be real.
if the horseman has business with you nobody will come to your aid.
nobody knows you.
nobody will remember you.
Bishop:
the hotel bartender.
a dwarf.
kind of a steampunk cockney pirate at
heart.
a notorious asshole.
but the sort of asshole who quotes Milton
and the Marquis de Sade
while insulting you.
fond of the word cunt.
very nimble with knives.
he will cut you if he hears the phrase little
people.
Balthazar says he's the only bartender in town who knows how to make
a proper rusty nail.
ai art again horse whipped into submission by Edith. apparently the bot has been
trained
to whimper at the word dwarf.
for fuck sake.
Enoch:
or Ezekiel. maybe Ephraim.
the lift operator. 70 yrs old but spry. blind in both eyes.
exceptional hearing and sense of smell.
cool cat. sort of an oracle.
impeccable manners.
he definitely probably has a sword in that umbrella,
which he uses as a cane.
Mr E knows everything that's going down in the 9.
but keeps his mouth shut unless asked properly and compensated generously.
there is only one elevator for the residents.
famously unpredictable.
doesn't always take you to the floor you asked
for. but maybe the floor you need.
maybe a floor you didn't know existed.
Emil O has proposed we play with the idea that there may be
hidden floors. or half floors.
there are multiple staircases In the 9 and they are all
precarious.
there is a service elevator somewhere in the bowels but only Malick,
Arthur, and Godfrey have access to that one. Moira and her minions too.
and mister E.
ai art steered and muscled along by Edith.
Irreggulars
below are some of the primary stock characters assigned to the 401 family nine story hotel anthology.
more on the way.
some of them are perhaps more secondary in nature and disposition.
choose any one of them as your primary or narrator
and engage the others as allies, marks, antagonists, love interests and so on.
or invent your own primary who will fit in with the locals. then navigate the hotel at your own risk.
all of the hotel 9 regulars are treacherous by default.
homicidal to varying degrees.
their backstories, skill sets, aliases and shifting allegiances will be fleshed out by the family. communal world building.
fade.
Edith aka the bookworm:
nobody knows what her deal is or where she came from. or even what room she stays in.
most often ghosting the lobby.
always reading and watching.
skill set and allegiances likewise unknown.
approach with caution.
Griffin Pinch:
severely disturbed army vet lost in the hotel.
assigned to a room on 9th floor but rarely stays in it.
prefers to set up camp in the boiler room
or on the roof.
note the last name.
Griffin is some half cousin once removed blood relation to Arthur
so nobody fucks with him.
nor would they want to.
known to bite off fingers. even the sisters leave him alone.
Evangeline:
companion.
consort.
razor girl.
kept in a glass box in a room nobody can find on the 8th floor.
until Arthur needs her to do something terrible to someone who has it coming.
what she did to end up in the box is unknown. the rumors are not
pretty.
the sisters: I don't know their names yet. permanent off-book residents of the hotel. meaning they don't have tax ids or HR portfolios. not that any of the staff do. but they are even more off book than Malick the plumber. the sisters are your basic hellscape noir take on medusa and her siblings who gave odysseus all he could handle.
just imagine the fun and games to be had with this lot.
Note: The oldest, tallest sister, seen here far right, has been beaten to death by an angry Russian in the Hotel Lobby.
Jasper Fink. aka the Interloper:
like the horseman, Jasper operates outside the rules and etiquette among the professionals at the 9, such as they are.
nothing is known of his background or country of origin.
he acknowledges no allegiance to flag, family, colors or guild.
according to the proprietor, if Jasper is coming for you then you're already well past borrowed time.
you're on negative time.
Godfrey aka the barber:
permanent resident at the 9, Godfrey is the house surgeon, dentist, and
barber.
also a notorious opium addict, degenerate gambler and scoundrel with the
ladies.
he is self-taught but a talented doctor when relatively sober and properly
motivated.
said to be tangled in an ongoing triangular relationship with Althea and Moxie.
the mademoiselle:
the mademoiselle has been with the hotel 9
longer than Arthur or Malick.
the proprietor says she came with the property
upon transfer of deed.
not everyone can see her.
or don't like to admit it if they do.
the mademoiselle is real. she is a problem. or she can be,
if she turns up in your room.
Arthur is known to communicate with her, and sometimes assigns
her odd jobs.
ALL THE ABOVE CHARACTERS CREATED BY WILL CHRISTOPHER BAER
THE BELOW CHARACTERS ARE MORE FLESHED OUT BECAUSE THEY WERE NEW ADDITIONS/HAD MANY WORDS WRITTEN ABOUT THEM BEFORE THE WORD GO
The Russians:
Married couple. Grossly in love for no human reason.
War contractors. Hotzone seekers. Professionals to a fault.
Summoned back to the nine under presumed employ of the Proprietor himself
Husband is a former regular who was banned from the premises 13 years ago under highly irregular circumstances
Banned and called back 13 years later both
By the Proprietor himself
Xenia Popova:
The Black Witch of Grozny, Golovoreza.
Half Russian/half Chechen
Tall, lean, strong, broad shouldered woman.
Covered in a suit of black ink tattoos looking ready for the UFC.
Hair a wild variable, prone to dying it, currently boy cut short and shining silver.
Face sharp enough to cut glass.
Likes a party. Loves a fight. Holds a grudge.
Dramatic, as in her life is a performance.
Gets hot angry at the strangest slights.
Refuses to calm down and yes, she will fight the whole bar.
Weapons proficient from howitzers on down, but gets wet for blades.
Sees spirits. Likes to dance. Dresses loud colored and comfortable or for utility.
Her knife work is so distinctly surgical that if someone has seen it once and knows what they’re looking at they’ll always be able to spot her work.
Attached to Vladimir.
Hates Arthur.
Unsure about how she feels about the Mademoiselle
Generally indifferent and aloof.
Ocular dichromatism, Has one brown eye, and one blue eye.
Vladimir Leonidov Krovopuskovic:
Professional soldier of fortune. Fromer Captain in some shady branch of Putin’s Spec Ops. (ALFA DEVGRU)
Met Xenia in Chechnya under bloody circumstances in ‘99. Love at first fight.
together over a decade, claim married, no legal evidence.
Polite. Well spoken. Reads a lot.
Has a plan to kill everyone he meets.
If there was a one man army, it would be him.
Banned from the 9 13 years ago for killing the former barber and proceeding to not die when asked politely. (He opted to start a one man war instead)
Three feet wide and six foot five, too fast and quiet for his size, inked as much as his wife, bearded, sharp features, heavy brow, deep set grey eyes.
Fashion sense of a soldier. Slavic penchant for Adidas.
Ranked a designated marksman at the unit level 30 times over
Now two decades of house to house urban warfare in the Middle East and beyond,
If there was a Greek god of CQB. Fond of short black carbines. Sleeps in body armor maybe.
Tempers Xenia. Dry wit. Friend to Balthazar. Pinch finds him Vulgar. In a pinch he’s not above solving his problems with a grenade.
The below is an artist’s interpretation based on a combination of descriptions, no photos of Vladimir Leonidov Krovopuskovic are known to exist. (One LESS than his good friend and chess partner Rufus Balthazar)
(The Russians are original characters from Emil Ottoman)
Sultana:
AKA Tami
Adopted from the Levant: Raised in Suburban CA.
Traveler, travels all over the country, every state.
Speed junkie, fast cars, only drives stick.
Wants to die, only dreams of suicide.
Collects relationships with people who want to party/escapism of any kind.
Knife artist. Odd jobs for knife work.
Won’t work for men,. Prone to sadism and only murdering them though.
Prefers psychedelics and whiskey.
Likes blond women, predominantly lesbian will fuck men to kill them.
Treats all women like gods.
Loves cats for their independence and sadism.
Secretly in love with Amata, her dom for the past decade.
Very quiet, particular with how she says things. Doesn't trust people very easily.
Scary high pain tolerance, finds it pleasurable.
Refuses to wear dresses. Only wears dressy suit jackets and dress pants.
Grey blue eyes. Never dyed her hair, dark brown almost black.
Sees spirits of the people she’s killed.
Hates arrogant men, finds Arthur annoying.
Works for Moxie, doesn't like Grim or Moira.
Amata:
Obsessed with her sub Tami aka Sultana, chasing her for a decade.
Russian, St. Petersburg street rat that fucked her way to the US.
More back alley abortions than God has born again Christians..
Wants to fight people all the time
Acts up classy or diplomatic to get what she wants.
Will fuck anything or anyone to get ahead as long as it pays. Money fucks.
Everyone pays. Refusal invites getting gelded.
Likes Cocaine but only uses while fucking for money, diplomacy, or political brinksmanhip.
Doesn't trust people.
Smells weakness, reads body language and social interaction. Loves all women unless she smells a snake.
Can just about killl anyone with enough blunt force. Fights dirty as a Russian whore.
praise/worship kink.
vodka is water, but fancy cocktails and absinthe are preferred. She loves cheese and bloody steak.. Hates drugs. Smokes a blunt occasionally in a safe space.
Seductive by nature, doesn't think twice about it. Loves films. Loves reading articles. Into psychology/neuroscience. Loves the color pink.
Doesn't see spirits, but believes in them.
Replaces her low pain tolerance with sex or violence.
Listens to goth/punk music.
Bisexual, but can only fuck men and never date them, and then only for cock for money.. Amata thinks sex with men is like white bread or bland breakfast.
Wants to torture Moira, by proxy dislikes Grim and Arthur.
Plans to work for Bosch and the sisters later
(Sultana and Amata are original creations of
)Nerisse:
Mysterious weirdo, transient, lives in a camper van parked square at the ass of the loading dock behind the hotel.
Hiding under the shadow of the Hotel maybe. Safe spot in a scary metro for the right kind of person.
Clumsy, don’t give her a knife. Doesn’t look violent, lacks coordination.
Apparently near useless if shit hits fan or fight breaks.
Knows things.
People will talk to her, spill life stories. Afterwards cannot explain why they did. Unlucky ones won’t remember what they said.
Talks crazy, but it’s an act.
Acts crazy, but it’s an act.
Keeps a notebook to scribble in, unknown contents. Keeps a bag of mixed pharma, will trade for pills for shiny objects.
Has a very set routine.
Once a week Tuesday comes out the hotel elevator looking like a model dressed in Business Gucci and unrecognizable with a briefcase handcuffed to her wrist. Gets in an SUV, returns Wednesday evening. Next day she’s crazy again.
Holds secrets. Little known by anyone.
No known associates. She may think she knows someone in room 505 though. Slips notes under the door.
Arthur keeps an eye on her, has the notes intercepted and collects them.
They’re either in code or gibberish, Arthur has yet to feel the need to consult a cryptographer.
(Nerisse is an original creation of
)Ah, fuck, one more
Rumiko Matayoshi (Surname meaning: lucky again)
Aliases: Shina, The White Rabbit
Drug dealing Yakuza Rave princess from a mostly dissolved Yakuza family.
Possible LSD chemist.
Really likes LSD. Possibly in a sexual way.
Deception, hustling, drugging people, gang shit, scrappy as shit but plays innocent. Small arms proficient. Terrifying Judoka. Sneaky little devil. Cliche, but yes, there is a family sword involved.
Believes she may be a minor deity. Has psychic powers (if you ask her). She liked to get people high and play MK ULTRA with them. Assume she is always on a heroic dose of LSD, which is just how she lives. Speaks mostly indirectly.
Yakua bodysuit of tattoos features an unlikely theme of red eyed white rabbits eating a snake with the usual flowers and clouds as infill.
Primarily wears silver and white. Preference for white hoodies with rabbit ears on the hood. Disarmingly Kawaii and also terrifying and cold, so cute or viper.
Stumbled into the 9 one night pretending(?) to be disasterously high. Got a room, and disappeared into it. Plans and purpose of stay unknown.
Only known connection is Arthur Pinch, who is in love with her (according to her)
OUTSIDE
9 story hotel exterior:
what's going on outside the hotel you ask.
unspecific apocalyptic nightmare fuel like the scene
below.
I mean who are those dudes.
what are they doing. who do they work for.
and that's just a lazy wish it would hurry up and rain already sort of Wednesday.
hotel 9 exterior:
other times the world outside the 9 looks
something like this.
or maybe it always looks
different to and through different
Eyes.
BONUS CONTENT!
night swim
sometimes Evangeline gets out of that glass box.
then somehow escapes the 8th floor.
which to Arthur's knowledge only Griffin and Moxie have managed thus far.
other than himself that is.
regardless.
if Evangeline wasn't talented enough to escape Arthur's
shrodinger cat cage
and the labyrinth of the 8th
he wouldn't have had to lock her in there in the first place
now would he.
or so he explained it to girl friday Grim.
either way she's certainly not allowed in the hotel pool.
........
as for Griffin and Moxie.
Griff pissed off Balthazar and got shoved in through one of the 8th floor fire doors on a particularly bloody easter Sunday when Arthur was occupied off site.
it remains a sore topic between them.
Moxie did a run through the 8th to retrieve a rare sapphire necklace from room 818 on a rainy day while waiting for her nails to dry.
because she was bored, apparently.
or on a dare from Grim.
true story though Arthur may have added the bit about her nails for a touch of
Color.
This is excellent, really helpful. I'm mulling over a couple of ideas right now. Want to sleep on it, see how the nightmares develop.
this is very interesting.