hotelcaelum | Event Log #002

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Event Log #002

EVENT LOG
number 002

The hotel humbly hopes that you're settling in well and are taking advantage of the various pleasures on offer for your stay. In Mr Bennet's opinion, things have been going quite well and he doesn't think that the guests are unhappy at all. New guests have arrived, some have left, it's all going along perfectly. So, of course, this is when the next troublesome thing pops up.

SHADOWS

One morning, characters will find the hotel to be a little dimmer than usual, a little more shadowy. Yet if anyone asks Mr Bennet about it, he will claim to not have noticed anything different than usual. Either way, as the characters move on with their day, they'll start to notice a few odd things start to happen.

PHASE ONE: Initially, characters will notice their shadow beginning to move a little out of sync with them. Discreetly at first until eventually, their shadow takes on a life of its own, mischievously playing with characters and enjoying their newfound freedom. Very Peter Pan, and completely harmless.

PHASE TWO: Now, shadows might disappear entirely, roaming the hotel to their own discretion and ignoring the characters they belong to. As the shadow takes on this free will, characters will begin to feel slightly off balance and have a hard time feeling whole without their shadow around. The shadow may become slightly aggressive as well if told they should return to their characters, fighting back in their own way from knocking things over to outright attacking other characters. It's a little hard to fight back though when your opponent is a shadow, isn't it?

PHASE THREE: The shadows have become fully aggressive now, fighting anyone who tries to get them to return to their original person. Characters will find themselves feeling weak and low energy as a result of losing their shadow. Eventually, the shadows will come back to their owners but the characters will find themselves sinking into their shadow, eventually changing places entirely with their shadow. The only way to rescue a character from this fate is for another character to pull them out of their shadow forcibly. The bright side is once a character is pulled out of their shadow, it all returns to normal and their shadow is no longer sentient.

These phases will last over the course of the week and it is quite alright to stay in phase one/two/three. Not all shadows will become aggressive, not all shadows will be playful. Feel free to manipulate your character's shadow in the way that's most fun for you.

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[What's this? Is he feeling awkward? There's a tug on a corner of her lips. Maybe he really is shy.]

Of course. I wasn't about to step over you as you suggested.

If at any point you think you cannot walk, merely say so.

[ You're so short, ma'am. ]

Others, at least. I thought I saw yours also move separately from your own movements.

[ Which perhaps sounds inane, but this lady seems like she's accepting of strange things? ]

Then, in your opinion, would he be of use now, or is this something meant to be handled by the guests?

Possible. Maybe it's been possessed by a demon.

[Casually, as if that happens (it does). She peers over her shoulder, but her shadow is staying put while eyes are on it.

Then she glances over at Barghest's and--]

Ah--wait, now it's yours that's moving!

They appear to emulate their owners, to some extent. Are you the flippant sort?

[ YOU CAN'T JUST ASK-- ]

[ The bed at home: ]

A nap... I do like naps...

[ Naps are her primary source of sleep, after all. Her body yields to Astarion's attempts to shake her back into awareness, but if Astarion pays much mind to the starry void that Sumina's shadow has become over the ground, he might for a moment find a small slit forming over the stars, and slowly opening to reveal a reptilian, amber eye. ]

Mm... Wait. I'm— Astarion...?

[ That's right. She's... here, at some far-flung place, not taking a simple nap at home. But as soon as she seems to realize this, that plasma grows ever volatile. It doesn't harm Astarion necessarily, but it is... bright, and radiant, contrasting with the darkness of the shadow itself. ]

[It's easier once she can grasp the flooring of the hotel, though effort is still required to unearth her fully and properly -- and once that's said and done, he expects her fully to lean on him, even if Astarion might usually shy away from such contact.

After all, when he was "freed" from his own devouring shadow, he had been much the same. Disoriented, wobbly on his feet. And yes, keenly... self-aware of his own failing to save himself. No doubt she feels that same shame.

Still, it's difficult. He's not a kind man, he's not a delicate one. He's all sharp edges and rejoinders when met with uncertainty, and though his concern is not for show--else he'd not have helped her at all--he doesn't know what else to do or say, other than to gutter out an exhale and mutter:]

Generous? Hardly. I'm simply trying to keep this hotel from spiraling out of control. [As though he has any control over that.] Come now, can you stand on your own?

[Shy!! Does he look shy to you!! ~~he's just allergic to sincerity~~]

Ha. [The sound isn't completely lacking humor. It does make his lips twitch upwards, just a tad.] So you've a bleeding heart under there, is that it? Or have I just grown on you that much?

Edited 2023-11-10 16:09 (UTC)

Right. I will... Actually—

[ Hm. Wait. Her voice stops abruptly, as she second-guesses herself. At length, she decides there's no harm in asking, especially considering the woman had carried her here. ]

...Would you mind if I leaned on you a bit as we went?

[He absolutely notices the shift in the starry void spread across the ground, and cuts his look downward just in time to see the open gaze of an amber eye, like that of some reptile. A dragon? Gods, he doesn't know, and what does it matter-

Because at this point, Astarion has Seen Some Shit. Her shadow revealing an eye to gape at him? Hells, why not!]

You need to-

[Whatever he was going to say it cut off, suddenly, by a flaring brightness, a radiance that causes him to wince for all its luminescence. He does--perhaps thanks to the instinct of a vampire, despite the tadpole in his head--recoil a little from it, though it doesn't truly harm him. Just enough to lose his grip on her as he steps back.]

Shit.

[And immediately regrets it, losing an anchor point on her. Frustration burns bright in his chest, and he refuses to just stand there and panic-]

This might hurt!

[...Is the only warning he gives before he just lurches forward and tries to tackle her right out of her shadow's tenrily grasp, throwing the full of his body weight into the attempt. Like the twinkiest football player you've ever seen, if either of them knew what American football was.]

[ Sumina is most certainly watching this interaction take place with the most tired gaze - more tired than her usual gaze, in fact. Even without the toll being separated from her shadow is apparently taking on her body, it's exhausting to be babysitting such a troublemaker... How could her shadow be like this??

She's halfway into spacing out as she and Kokomi look on when the sound of Kokomi's shadow slapping Sumina's across the face startles her. ]

Ah...

[ And in perfect unison with the other woman: ] I am so, so sorry—!

[It's not that Ringo doesn't like the library, it's just that there are more exciting places to see in this hotel. So she's here by accident, having gotten a bit turned around--

But seeing that show means she can't help but stop and stare.

Oh. That's a pickle.

Ringo quirks an eyebrow, and then she strides forward, heels clicking on the floor, hands lifted to... literally shoo the shadows away.]

Shoo, shoo, you're being pests!

... To my knowledge, no. I mean merely to scrutinize your shadow.

[ Ominously, apparently. Sorry to Akira and Akira's shadow, specifically???? ]

[ What if she just never goes to sleep ever again after this? Are you sure you want to wake her up? Ah, well.

Eyelids opening to reveal bleary, starry irises, Sumina weakly lifts a hand to rub at the shimmering dust gathered at the corners of her eyes... yeah even her sleepy sand is glimmery, we're committed to the aesthetic over here in the annaverse.

All that registers to her sleepy senses is a shock of white hair, so: ]

Mmm...? Not now, Vaer...

[ As she attempts to roll over to face away from them, apparently not having realized where she is or who she's with.

Her shadow, however, has regained its faculties with renewed fervor, indeed realizing where it is: exactly where it needs to be for exactly what it wants to do. They all know this song and dance by now - and so as ever, the shadow won't make this easy while it takes on an almost serpentine form and slithers out of Gojo's grasp and across the leaf-littered ground to take its place as Sumina's shadow once more.

At once, her body starts to sink into a starry void lined by those same wisps of cosmic plasma, which now rise up out of its outline to ensnare Sumina. ]

...Ha.

[He has to huff out the sound, despite himself. Distasteful, is it?]

These shadows aren't too flattering, are they.

[His bullets aren't doing a lot, but he makes another leap forward to spring over the shadow, firing off another round mid-air. If he's doing anything at all, at least pulling its attention between two targets, then it'll have to do.]

Can you reconnect to it on your own? [He says as he lands, wondering if they can circumvent a shadow trying to pull in its owner altogether.]

Not recently, no. I saw it head in this direction and if it is anything like me, its path will be a straightforward one. It isn't meant for deceit.

[ So at least there's that?? She can hope. ]

[ Well, he's acrobatic and a distraction, which is helpful at the moment, and the Shadow doesn't appear to like the noise of the gunshots, wavering furiously.

But Barghest seizes advantage of it, of the suggestion, and tries to grab the shadow.

It doesn't quite go as planned. It's clearly distracted; it slips into her, then behind her, but at the same time, it pulls her along with it and before she can say much of anything, she's been engulfed and dragged back into the shadowy wall up to her fingertips.

It's a vigorous shadow. ]

You fought valiantly.

[ It's a very sincere statement, at least. Humans don't tend to get this far on their own, and with that, Barghest reaches down to grasp one of Odette's arms and pull. Ideally not hard enough to like, dislocate her shoulder, but to give her more of a chance against the shadow trying to tug her down. ]

If I minded, I would not have you inform me. It would be more of an inconvenience if you kept your weakness to yourself.

[ She's not a mind reader, after all. Use her as you will, Sumina. ]

[He's going to go home and get his claymore at this rate

But also his demeanor instantly changes--he huffs, crossing his arms.]

I certainly have! It's been an absolute menace. [Like. He's concerned because this is not a thing that should be happening, he really is. But also, more importantly, he's ANNOYED] Knocking things over, getting in the way of the staff--it's like having an unruly child. [Ugh.] Why, have you lost yours? I can help you look for it.

What?!

[ She whirls.

Her shadow flips its hair. ]

... Whoa. Sassy.

[Sorry, she's just the peanut gallery right now. Intruding on whatever Barghest plans on doing with her own shadow seems rude.]

[Shit.

A vigorous shadow? It's definitely that, and now it's a problematic one. On his suggestion, now she's deep within the grasp of the inky void of shadow, and Vincent can't help but curse under his breath, his jaw going taut as he dashes forward to close the space between them.

He's fast, thank Gaia. Fast enough to reach his own arm into the darkness and try to grab at hers, assuming he can find purchase. His other actually holsters his weapon and braces his palm flat against the wall, pushing, trying to wrench her out.]

Barghest!

No, it's maintained its proximity, but...

[ She glances over her shoulder, at said shadow. As she speaks, it flickers, then stretches dramatically. ]

As you can see, it has chosen to act somewhat erratically. But yours is capable of knocking things over?

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Event Log #002

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