Event Log #002

[caelumstaff]

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. NAV | PREMISE | RULES | FAQ | TAKEN hotelcaelum | caelumserver | caelumooc

Comments

[unliminal]

[ As rigidly and flat as possible: ]

No. I'm very unflippable.

[unliminal]

[ They are past that point, the nature of their situation forcing him to lower his walls, though perhaps he could have attempted to brush off what happened as something to laugh about now. It would feel disingenuous, however, and Sumina deserves better than that. Has earned more than that, for all the time she's put up with his antics, and even more now, for offering him her aid in his time of need, even if it downright terrified her to do so.

She's made of much sterner stuff than she realizes.

His hands at her shoulders slip down to the crooks of her elbows instead, still holding fast, though his gaze remains downcast. It doesn't need to be your only company when you're lonely.

If only it were so simple...but then again, she would understand loneliness well herself, wouldn't she? Given how transient the people in her life must be, by the very nature of her work. Like him, she's defined by that, too, even if in wholly different ways.

He doesn't respond back to her right away, instead letting his eyes flutter closed, white eyelashes pressing into a tight line, as the void around them starts to recede, cracking like a sphere to reveal the hotel hallway around them once more. Even as his domain gives way, he keeps the both of them grounded, rooted to this spot. If he moves, he might lose his nerve, might lose the meaning of this moment. Just...what is she offering him? ]

Sumina? [ Not Mina-chan...just Sumina. ] You...you're lonely too, aren't you?

[likesitruff]

... So you are.

[ Well, that answers the question incredibly well, doesn't it-- ]

[encoffins]

[Vincent nods at her affirmation of feeling... more normal, which is about what happened to him. The slow return of energy. As long as her shadow remains acting as it should, he's fairly sure they've seen the last of it causing trouble for now -- at least, as long as the hotel doesn't send anything else surprising their way.

But as for the thanks and apology, he seems to wave it away vaguely with a gauntleted hand.]

You don't need to apologize. For a moment, I thought you might actually be lost in your shadow.

[In other words, he might've helped, but it was two seconds away from not going as well as it did.]

[hexensabbat]

[Oh... his fancy shoes.......

Ringo is just peering behind her, looking for what she tripped on (huh??? There's nothing there?), before she glances back over at him with an amused tilt of her head.]

It's all good. It's not like it cost me anything.



Also, wait. It wasn't even your fault.

[hexensabbat]

Your... shadow?

[It does succeed, though Ringo smacks at it a moment later. Rude.

She stands then, propping her hands on her hips.]

You contain your shadow better normally? [Miss Barghest, what?]

[hexensabbat]

[Ringo looks up at that, finally really processing just how precarious Sprezzatura's situation is--and then she reaches out to grab the ladder, steadying it.]

Hold on tight--I'm gonna tilt it against that bookshelf so you can climb down.

[As if the shadows are going to allow them to blatantly ignore them like that.]

second

[icyspicy]

[ Ma'am this is quite a commotion to be causing in a library. So of course it's going to draw some attention, and what does he come around the row of shelves to find?

Oh dear. ]

Need a hand?

[ Obviously. ]

[icyspicy]

[ He can't help but think back to The Ninjas, and lets out a sigh. ]

It's very likely we're on our own. Ah, so much for that line of thinking.

[icyspicy]

[ He'd been ready to act if all had not gone well, but quite thankfully, Gojo manages to lay his shadow out flat (literally), and it seems all is right with the world again.

So Winter makes his leisurely way down the hall, coming over to lean next to the other man. ]

Feeling a bit better now that you're hale and whole again?

[icyspicy]

[ Help... just imaging Vaer and Gojo in the same space is too much ego for even him to handle, but the mental image makes him laugh. ]

Wrong white-haired menace, Mina.

[ He says like she's awake enough to hear him or care.

Ah, but it seems the shadow has ideas of its own, slithering down to start to pull Sumina in. It's about what he expected, so a pair of night-dark and starry tendrils of his own slip around Sumina's middle to help pull her out. ]

[astarion]

[Out of character is a kind way to put it. Kind enough to pretend like the resignation she saw was not a part of him that's floated up to the surface before. But his grin skews a little more angled, anyway.]

Oh, most certainly. Good thing now I'm feeling more... right as rain, so to speak, now that it's back.

But what about you?

[encoffins]

[He glances up as the other approaches, brow only slightly knitted. This is inconvenient, but not quite crossing the threshold into embarrassing for a man like Vincent. Despite his sad, spilled drink.

He nods, then reaches up to grasp his hand with his own gauntleted one, heaving himself up. Still balancing the pizza.]

I'm fine. ...Is this place always like this?

[airdnd]

Ah, of course. Not to worry, I have absolutely no delusions of strength on my part. I'm as weak as they come! Ahaha.

[ rip. ]

Then... Shall we?

[likesitruff]

Similarly, I had the same thought.

... I would be a poor excuse of a knight to be defeated so soundly not long after arrival, of course. [ With a heavy sigh. ]

I'll need to maintain a more vigilant attitude, it seems. This hotel is not as harmless as they might have implied.

[riproduzione]

[ Oh, it's her, from the unfortunate breakfast. He's thankful to see a face he recognises somewhat, less so that she witnesses him be unceremoniously pushed around like he weighs nothing. Though he stumbles, he regains his balance and grimaces once she gets closer, nodding in response to her question. ]

Unfortunately. [ Nowhere to be seen now, however. He's sure that won't last. ] As long as it stays focused on me, I suppose it's fine…

[ Even if he technically wouldn't be the one responsible, he doesn't want to hear about his own shadow taking whatever its issues are out on anyone else. ]

Do you know where yours is?

[airdnd]

[ In the short time that they have known each other, Giselle has time and time again proven herself to be rather a calm, collected woman. In that way, she does remind Sumina quite a bit of the astral elves she's met outside of her family. All so long-lived, to the point that they are... unflappable, but also numb and distant to what surrounds them. In this moment, it is a boon, especially for Sumina's frayed nerves—

Though she has never seen the maid so... stunned. Was it something she said...? Or did? At once, her fingers twitch around Giselle's arm with an instinctual urge to draw away, in case her touch is what shook the other woman; but soon her hand alights upon Sumina's with a frigid touch felt through the thin fabric of her gloves.

She thinks, then, about the way Giselle led her through the haunted house by the hand... And so beneath Giselle's touch, Sumina's gloved hand shifts to instead grasp her hand, her own touch warm but trembling from her distraught state, even as she attempts to echo her words from that time: ]

I won't let go.

[ Glancing over in the direction of the commotion, too, Sumina draws in a deep breath and waves her free hand; a spectral hand appears where the two shadows are investigating, and though it pains Sumina, it sweeps across the surface of the counter, disheveling every ingredient laid out for the mise-en-place... ]

[velluminous]

[ well, there goes Sprezzatura and her chair, forcibly plunged to one side. even exhausted, that gets the old heart pumping, the blood flowing, and she looses a graceless squawk as she's made bereft of the table she was draping listlessly over.

but her shadows are crafty, and when Henry yanks her away, they're angry, too. the first loops its tail around the table leg and joins hands with the second, who remains clutching stubbornly onto Sprezzatura's ankle. the end result is all three "Sprezzaturas" straining against Henry's telekinetic force. to be fair to the woman herself, at least she has a justifiable excuse for doing so. ]

Let go!

[ is she talking to him or the shadows? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ]

[encoffins]

Of course it wouldn't be so easy. Guess they want us to-

[He might as well rise into a stand, the material of his clothing shifting as he does so. He offers her a hand up; though he'll hardly be offended if she doesn't require it.]

-work for our "wish." That said, I shouldn't have to rely on a gun or my magic on vacation.

[...He should have just stayed asleep in his coffin.]

[vecna]

[To be fair, he's not exactly being kind or particularly delicate. He's trying to forcibly remove her from her shadows for the sake of spiting the shadows themselves, and to prove to himself that, despite his exhaustion, he isn't powerless.

And yet. He already feels a ribbon of warm blood starting to eke down a nostril.

Well, who fucking cares. Henry sneers as the shadows latch onto her, leaving a tiefling chain of Sprezzaturas to contend with as his powers continue to pull. He leans forward stubbornly, holding out a hand to her, the other still bracing against the table.]

Grab on!

[You know, the opposite of "let go." :)

He is also telekinetically flinging an empty chair at the shadow latched onto the table, for good measure.]

[likesitruff]

Yes. At your ready. [ She'll offer her arm so Sumina can lean as comfortably as one can lean against a lady who's wearing full plate armor-- ]

[fixtures]

[ She takes his words mostly at face value, attributing his exhale to exasperation — completely valid exasperation, at that. By the sounds of it, he must be going around the hotel helping others in similar situations... noble, for someone who is not a saint. Anyone would begin to feel tired of it eventually. ]

Allow me one moment, if you would.

[ Bit by bit, she lessens the weight of her pressure on him, gaining her bearings, even if it's done somewhat clumsily. For a brief moment, she doesn't seem like the elegant, stoic maid — she seems just a troubled girl with a lack of balance. But as soon as she's standing properly, her hands retract from him, resisting the urge to straighten the clothes she'd rumpled in favor of freeing him from her cold touch as quickly as possible. ]

I am deeply sorry. [ Her hands return to their proper place, folded neatly in front of her. Her head bows, chin sticking close to her chest. There's more sincerity to her words than normal, a slight closing of the usual distance. ] I fear I have been naught else but a burden to you since we crossed paths. All I wanted was to close my eyes and rest...

[ Not that that's a good excuse, but... she supposes she should try to explain herself. ]

[likesitruff]

It was a valid option and educational for those of us who have yet to meet the staff officially. I'll keep that in mind, going forward.

[ That they're USELESS. ]

[airdnd]

[ Freed momentarily of Astarion's grasp, Sumina's smaller frame only sinks into the shadow even further, while the half-elf remains only partially cognizant of what's taking place. That strange eye only seems to gleam with delight at this, however, even as Astarion seems to wind himself up for something presumably drastic.

Sumina's gaze grows ever clearer, and though the plasma and its radiance are familiar to her, she doesn't understand why she's looking at it... Weakly, she lifts a hand to wave her hand through the stuff, watching as it shifts and responds to her touch in a most ethereal way - until it snaps tight to her skin, too.

That's when she remembers. With a shiver running up her spine, Sumina's starry eyes widen— ]

What are you—

[ Just in time for Astarion to full-on tackle her, which knocks the wind right out of her lungs... Her shadow rolls a 14 in Strength to keep Sumina in its grasp! ]

[fixtures]

[ That makes her chuckle, a hand raising politely to cover her mouth. ]

Then, shall we search for our shadows together? Perhaps they are working in tandem, as well. I have an inkling mine will not be so straightforward...

[ So maybe their shadows would make a good team!! ]