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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[A stumble is good, but not good enough. Not for how violent this shadow feels, how much it wants to tear into an enemy just for the sake of it. No, she's too big for it to do any damage looking like this, but this shadow is a reflection of Vincent himself, and it has a few borrowed tricks up its figurative sleeves.

It hunches over, and its frame seems to grow... bigger. The contoured lines of its dark silhouette swell and bulge, almost like it were shifting form into something else. Two huge horns start to protrude from its head--

The sound of a gunshot. A bullet fires out, slamming through the shadow's head, and the form temporarily reels back. Vincent himself stands farther down the corridor, leaning most of his weight against the wall. Weakened, but certainly not weak enough to not have fired his weapon, its muzzle smoking.]

Over here.

[That's... his blasted shadow. He can try to deal with it.]

[ Yes, he's clearly going to do great at dealing with it while he's half-slumped against a wall. Barghest is still processing how the shadow itself had begun to warp its shape, the horns she had seen--

If this was Vincent's Shadow, does that mean this pale twig of a man wrapped in a curtain is capable of...

Well, it's not that important now. He calls to the shadow, but it's Barghest who moves to him first, whirling to face the shadow. ]

Not a very effective challenge if you can't stand up straight.

I don’t need to stand up straight to fire my weapon.

[He says, weakened but not unmotivated to put an end to whatever is happening. He might not know how this hotel ended cleaving him away from his own shadow, but Vincent isn’t going to let it wander about attacking people if he has anything to say about it.]

Or cast magic. You need to move aside.

[The shadow straightens again, whipping its head forward to gnash its maw at the two. Barghest especially, since she’s near — now, it’s well and truly taken the form of a large, muscular beast.]

[ The blade is brought up again, intercepting the shadow's jaws as she shoves back against the beast, flames flickering along the sword now. ]

What, concerned about hitting me? You needn't be.

[ He did not say that was why?? ]

[He notes the flames appearing around her sword, while the shadow is pushed back by both steel and heat. Its tail lashes wildly, then braces against the wall behind it to hold its ground.

And no, Vincent didn't say that was why! But it's not too far off.]

You want to be electrocuted?

[He did say magic, so clearly instead of firing off another shot that does nothing to the shadow, he'll opt for something else.]

I've eaten magical lightning before. I'll be fine.

What's important right now is to subdue your shadow and return it to you, so do what you must!

[ Truly, she'll (probably) be okay. ]

["Probably" isn't quite good enough. Look at all that armor? That sword? It all seems very conductive to a blast of lightning magic. If he summons as much and it does more harm to her than the shadow, in the end, what good is that?]

At least try to turn this way after I cast it-

[A glow encircles his hand as he lifts it up, the telltale signal of materia being called upon to manifest magic; the smell of crackling ozone buzzes through the corridor.]

Are you always so concerned for others you barely know?

[ Fine, she's turning! Ozone is a familiar scent, one that hardly daunts her, but he might as well focus on the fight and not on her, so she also lowers the sword to make it less of an appealing target. ]

[He doesn't have to answer that question, Barghest. Maybe he doesn't need another reason to feel weighted by guilt, even if he barely knows her. Is that so wrong?

As soon as she turns, he lets the materia follow through, casting its spell in full. A bright slash of lighting crackles downward, enveloping his shadow, and just barely missing the space she had been occupying had she not bothered to turn aside. The monstrous figure rears up in pain, its shadowy muscles contracting, and it falls to the ground, briefly dazed.

And Vincent? Well. That took a bit more out of him than he expected, utterly drained from that single effort alone. He desperately continues to lean on the wall for support, but his legs buckle from beneath him, crashing down to his knees.]

[ Oh. There he goes.

The lightning strikes harmlessly close to her, but as expected, she's completely untouched by it, beyond her hair frizzing up a bit from the proximity. Barghest glances down at him for a moment, silently debating how best to handle this, and then reaches down to pick him up by the back of the... cloak? As she resettles him on his feet, one arm positioned to catch him if he starts to slump again-- ]

If you can stand, say so now or I will carry you.

[Cloak, cowl, cape. Whatever you want to call it, she manages to get a fistful of it and heave him upwards, a bit like picking up a rag doll. Vincent is not sure if he appreciates this manner of manhandling or not, but he does try to settle his balance on his feet again.

And yeah, no, he's just going to slump forward again, gripping at her arm instead to keep him upright.]

I am standing.

[Dubiously.]

Be more worried about my shadow.

[Writhing on the ground. Down but not out, still sizzling with electricity, limbs twitching and tail thrashing.]

... I wouldn't call the sentiment "worry". [ She casts a glance at the shadow, now unwilling to move her arm away when Vincent's clutching at it like a security blanket. If she moves it, he's likely to land on his face. ]

But we should attempt to get closer, before it recovers.

[He’s trying to keep balance without leaning too heavily on her arm, but there’s nothing for it — he feels too weak. He would truly fall flat on his face without her aid.

How frustrating.]

Have you given any thought as to how I’m supposed to “reunite” with it?

I have, but clearly I've been unable to confirm it. But I imagine proximity once it's been subdued may be useful.

[ She can hope. ]

If that fails, we can consider other options.

[He looks down at his shadow, in the bestial form it's taken, a frown hidden beneath his high collar.]

Fine. Then place me near it, and we'll see what happens.

[What other choice do they have, really? He's at a disadvantage if it suddenly springs back to life, but better him than her, at least.]

Very well.

[ Good thing she cannot tell he's thinking self-sacrificial thoughts. Good thing for who? For both of them, probably, but Barghest thinks about letting him shuffle forward, how long that would take---

And just uses the arm holding him up to lift him off his feet to carry him over the few remaining feet to the shadow and place him down much closer to it, completely poised to bare her teeth or stab the shadow if it tries to pull shit.

Because stabbing clearly worked so well before. ]

[Stabbing the shadow worked about as well as shocking it with a great bolt of lightning, apparently. As soon as he's placed down next to it, eased down into a crouch with the help of Barghest, the inky black, beast-like form lifts its head and finds just enough strength to-

Grab Vincent by his arm.

Instinct tells him that this probably isn't a good thing, and he does his level best to wrench his arm away, but he's too weak. The shadow has far more strength, enough to yank him forward even further, and straight into the black void that is... itself. Slowly, it tries to envelop Vincent into it, quite literally face-first.

The man has enough cognizance, at least, to lurch his other arm back and try to grab ahold of Barghest to keep him anchored.]

[ Well, that's new and unexpected, and thankfully, these shadows are nothing like the mors back in Faerie Britain, but they are determined to be a problem and as this particular one tries to swallow Vincent whole, Barghest bites back a curse and lunges to meet that outstretched arm.

He's not him, not small and frail and sickly with smiles that nevertheless shone stronger than some of her more difficult opponents, but whether he's someone she needs to mind her strength around or not, currently she thinks it might be a problem if she accidentally ripped off his arm.

So she does grab it, bracing her heels into the floor, and doesn't yank but tries to pull him back, carefully. She's still off-balance from lacking her own shadow at the moment, but something warns her not to let go, not to let that shadow consume him entirely. ]

[He appreciates her not popping his arm out of his socket, but Vincent is sturdier than his looks might imply. She holds on steadfast, and for a moment, he's caught in the middle between her efforts and the shadow's. Tendrils of darkness crawl from the beast, snaking up and around the man's form, trying desperately to engulf him.

The shadow turns its head to scowl up at Barghest as though to challenge her. This one is mine, the look in its eyes says, growling and showing its teeth. You can't save him.

Vincent turns his head, half of his face pressed into the darkness, flicking his red eyes in her direction. With clear exhaustion at this point:]

Not exactly going to plan-

[Thanks, Vincent.]

[ It's growling at her. This--this shadow, this pitiful substance, is attempting to establish dominance and Barghest flashes her own teeth in response. For just a few seconds, the blue and orange eye flickers to another color entirely: a vivid crimson replaces the iris, matching Vincent's. ]

You will not be claimed by something you yourself ought to govern over!

[ And it's almost as though her strength has increased, her grip tightening as she begins to back up, to try to force the shadow to slacken its group, to show her own force. ]

[Ought to govern over? There's something funny about those words, in a moment that's not really all that humorous at all. The beast form that his shadow has taken is one that exists in him, too, just as full of furor, just as animalistic. Maybe he has control of it to a certain extent, but once it's out and taken over, only the opposite is true.

And for some reason, that irony amuses him in a bitter sort of way, if only briefly.

Thankfully, her little game of tug of war is starting to lean in her favor. The shadow loses ground, and the darkness recedes from Vincent as Barghest manages to pull him away from its grasp. The tension pulls until there's tension no longer; like a rubber band suddenly snapping, all the momentum belongs to her, and Vincent goes careening sideways straight into her armor.

The shadow flattens out, slides along the ground, and... becomes Vincent's normal-ass shadow proper.]

[ I wish I could say it's going to be pleasant, making direct contact with a statuesque woman, but she is clad in armor right now and therefore, it's not going to feel great at all to bonk right into it. Sorry, Vincent.

All the same, it's perhaps better than being sucked fully into a shadow's grasp, whatever awaits those who cannot escape it, but when she glances down, the shadow is just that: a normal shadow.

Barghest takes a few seconds to acknowledge this, then releases Vincent's arm, though she is once again prepared to act if he's about to keel over again. She also has to brace herself against a wave of dizziness, widening her stance a bit to center herself. ]

We now have more information.

[ Delightful. ]

Edited 2023-11-07 05:31 (UTC)

[Yes, wonderful.

At least she's sturdy, and though it's a bit like falling against a brick wall, Vincent's had worse happen to him. Released as he is, he feels the loss of his balancing anchor -- but his strength is returning to him, slowly, slowly, and he manages not to keel over.

Still a bit wobbly on his feet, swaying slightly. But his eyes flick down to his shadow, which has gone back to normal, moving in-time with him.]

...I-

[Easy to make a dry remark about the nature of this information. What, pull someone out of their shadow, and if you can't manage it, then too bad for that person?

But she did just save him, and so-]

...Thank you. For that.

[ She could say he doesn't need to thank her, but he strikes her as the kind of person who is already aware of such a thing. If he's choosing to thank her, that is, indeed, a conscious choice.

So Barghest only nods once, slowly, carefully, a faint smile appearing. ]

I could have done very little for you, had you not reached out.

[ Thanks for not being stubborn, maybe?? ]

I don't give up that easily. I have some sense of self-preservation.

[He has plenty to fight for, to make right. And barring that, he just arrived to this questionable hotel -- he wasn't about to be devoured by his own shadow in the first week.

He exhales, glancing away, reaching up a hand to adjust his collar.]

...Even so, it's time to return the favor. Have you spotted your shadow lately?

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