Fakehostel.24.05.23.vera.jarw.and.mini.mitzix.x... -

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On 24.05.23, someone pinned a small paper flag to the noticeboard: a date, a name, a stippled X. Vera took a photograph. Mini traced the edges with a fingertip until the ink blurred into a constellation. Jarw — or the idea of Jarw — crouched in the corridor and hummed approval. FakeHostel.24.05.23.Vera.Jarw.And.Mini.Mitzix.X...

The third name belonged to Jarw, though no one could agree if Jarw was person, place, or rumor. Sometimes Vera swore Jarw knocked on her window with a polite insistence; once Mini dreamt Jarw had baked cookies that tasted like an address. Jarw’s presence was punctuation: a comma in the doorway, an exclamation point in the common room, a parenthesis left over the radiator. FakeHostel : This could be the name of

19:00

| Time (CET) | Event | Detail | |------------|-------|--------| | | Arrival | Vera and Mini appear together, pulling a battered duffel each. Mini’s portable synth rig hums faintly; Vera carries a DSLR with a tripod. They pass the rusted gate, noting the graffiti “ WELCOME TO THE VOID ” scrawled over the door. | | 19:12 | First Contact – Jarw | In the lobby, a lone figure leans against a broken vending machine. He introduces himself as “Jarw,” offers a cigarette, and begins a monologue on “the ethics of falsified hospitality.” He draws a chalk diagram of the building’s floor plan on a dusty table. | | 19:30 | Mitzix’s Entrance | A tall, lanky individual in a vintage tweed coat steps out from a side hallway. He carries a leather satchel filled with antique keys, a pocket watch, and a small glass jar labelled “ Essence of Absence .” He announces the “Night of the Mirror.” | | 20:00 | Room Allocation | Guests are “assigned” rooms via a handwritten note placed on a rusted metal locker. Vera receives Room 3‑B , Mini Room 4‑E , Jarw Room 2‑A , Mitzix Room 5‑C . The notes contain cryptic riddles that hint at the room’s “purpose.” | | 20:15 | The First “Performance” | In Room 3‑B, Vera discovers an old VHS camcorder already set up on a tripod, a stack of blank tapes, and a handwritten script titled “The Guestbook.” She begins recording her own observations, narrating in a calm, documentary tone. | | 20:45 | Soundscape Manipulation | Mini hacks into the building’s old PA system using a hidden Wi‑Fi router. She overlays an ambient track of low‑frequency drones, intermittent metallic clangs, and a looping field recording of distant waves. The sound drifts through hallways, altering the perception of space. | | 21:10 | Philosophical Debate | Jarw, holding a spray‑painted can, declares a “debate on reality.” He challenges Vera to answer: “If a hostel is fake, does it still host?” The argument spirals into discussions about simulation theory, the ontology of hospitality, and whether the guests are hosts or inhabitants . | | 21:45 | The Mirror Room (Room 5‑C) | Mitzix leads the group to a concealed door behind a broken bookshelf. Inside, a wall of antique mirrors covers every surface. Each mirror displays not a reflection but a slightly altered version of the viewer—different hair color, different clothing, sometimes an older version of themselves. Mitzix explains the mirrors “store the possibilities we never lived.” | | 22:30 | The “Essence” Ritual | In the central atrium, Mitzix uncorks the glass jar, releasing a faint, sweet vapor that smells like wet paper and ozone. He invites each participant to inhale and then speak a single truth about themselves. The statements are recorded by Vera’s camcorder: • Vera: “I hide my fear of being irrelevant behind a camera.” • Mini: “I’m scared that the sounds I create will outlive me and become my only memory.” • Jarw: “I am more comfortable speaking to walls than to people.” • Mitzix: “I collect moments like a thief collects coins, but I never spend them.” | | 23:15 | The Glitch – X Appears | The lights flicker; the PA system emits a burst of static. A distorted, synthetic voice—later identified as “X”—repeats the phrase “You are the hosts now.” The voice seems to emanate from every mirror simultaneously. The mirrors briefly flash, showing an extra figure: a silhouette with a glitchy, pixelated outline, hovering behind each participant. | | 23:45 | Breakdown of the “Script” | Mini’s synth rig begins playing a discordant melody that seems to be generated in real‑time by the building’s electrical wiring. The doors lock automatically; the hallway lights dim to a pulsing red. The group realizes that the “performance” has shifted from orchestrated to emergent. | | 00:10 | Resolution | Vera, after a final breath, decides to stop filming, turning the camera off. She steps away from the recorder, letting the moment exist without documentation. The building’s hum fades; the mirrors return to normal reflections. X’s voice disappears, leaving only an echo that fades into the night. The front door unlocks itself. | | 00:30 | Departure | Each participant exits the hostel alone, taking with them a single object: Vera’s notebook, Mini’s USB stick containing a fragment of the night’s soundscape, Jarw’s charcoal sketch of the mirror room, Mitzix’s pocket watch (now set to a different time). They never meet again, but each carries the imprint of that night. | Combating FakeHostels: The Way Forward

The truth remains deliberately ambiguous—exactly as the FakeHostel intended.

Performers:

It features the models Vera Jarw and Mini Mitzix.