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

[ You know Gojo is that guy who ignores the main quest for 98% of an RPG until the very end, before he goes to fight the boss naked with an insane crit build. But fortunately for all involved, this quest remains his absolute top priority, until they reach Sumina dozing beneath the linden tree, none the wiser as to the trouble her shadow has caused.

...Better they keep the tavern brawl bit on the down-low for now. ]

...You're not wrong. Maybe we can talk her into going back to sleep as our reward.

[ They just want nice things for her, okay. With the shadow-sack still over one shoulder, Gojo kneels down by Sumina's side, reaching out a hand to jostle her shoulder. Softly— ]

Mina-chaaan...special delivery...

[ 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. ]

[ 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. ]

[ The world would never know peace...for now, however, Gojo is simply left to wonder who this Vaer person even is. He'll have to ask later —

— Once they no longer have to worry about pulling Sumina away from her shadow as it tries to suck her in. While Winter grabs a hold of her with his tendrils, Gojo grasps her arms tight, since he already had one hand at her shoulder. Her shadow may be a clever one, but against both their raw strength, it really has no prayer of pulling Sumina away from them. ]

Upsie-daisy!

[ Tendril and hands alike find purchase well enough around her waist and her arms, respectively, and both bid Sumina's languid gaze to slowly slide towards their direction.

She's... Not at home, is she? She left the inn some time ago... And besides her schooling, she's never been away for so long. She misses it so dearly, and yet... She can't go back. Not yet. Isn't that right...? ]

Oh, I... I have to wake up now, don't I...?

[ With all of the will she can muster in her dazed state, she reaches for them... ]

I won't go home... yet...

[ The moment that those words leave her lips, the plasma haloing her shadow seems to suspend itself - but only for a moment, until suddenly it shifts, aimless wisps suddenly forming a pair of winglike extensions that flare with a starlike radiance and then slowly begin to close themselves around Sumina as the shadow attempts to pull her into its void with renewed fervor.

The radiant energy is harmless, but it is bright, just like the slit of light that forms and soon opens along her shadow, revealing a vertical pupil full of stars. It's probably fine. ]

[ Here's a little known fact about Winter, if only because he does a good job at hiding it: bright lights bother him. Not in any painful way, but it's enough to make him wince, screwing his eyes shut against that radiance. ]

Shadows should not be that bright.

[ Just an observation. The tendrils around her middle redouble their efforts, and Winter's own hands also grip her arms, somewhere along where Gojo has a hold of her. ]

Let go of her already, you infernal thing!

[ For better or for worse, having gone through this only a day or so ago himself, the experience is fresh in his mind, just how difficult it was to pull himself out of his shadow's influence. He probably won't need to cast his Domain Expansion this time, unless things take a turn for the worse, but the experience makes it no easier to consider how Sumina might be feeling right now.

She won't go home yet... ]

If you go home, who's going to keep bastards like us in line?

[ A firm tug, combined with a firm expansion of his Limitless barrier against the shadow that grips her tight. A bit more softly: ]

Stay with us, Mina-chan, at least a little while longer.

[ The strange eye curls in amusement at Winter in particular, and that warbled voice speaks up yet again, though it sounds strangely... distant, like the mere echo from some faraway plane. ]

Infernal? No, no. Try... astral!

[ As both Winter and Gojo's efforts redouble, both of their hands now on her arms along with the tendrils around her middle and Limitless seeking to push the shadow back, the plasma seemingly parting around that infinite barrier, their joint endeavor finally begins to bear fruit. Sumina's body begins to emerge, slowed only by Sumina's remaining lethargy and the fact that she isn't all that strong to begin with.

Her eyes flutter open more fully, seemingly unbothered with the blinding radiance that surrounds her in a stark contrast with her shadow, first meeting Gojo's gaze and then flicking over to Winter, seeing both of their steadfast strength, even in the face of this strange radiance that is all too familiar for her, as she recalls that just as with the others... she has to want to come out, she has to want to be freed from her shadow's grasp—

And then there's that word again. Stay. Something so simple, yet with a meaning that has been changing ever since she arrived here. It's not "Enjoy your stay," or "How was your stay?" here, it's...

"Just stay close to me, then."
"...Will you stay? Please."
"Stay with us, Mina-chan, at least a little while longer." ]

... I will. I'll stay.

[ All at once, they succeed at last, as Sumina's body is wrest free from her shadow, the momentum of the motion sending her into the two, though their respective powers would naturally have some effect on what kind of mess they all end up in.

The radiance of those solar wings fades at once, pulled back into the vacuum of space as her shadow returns to its normal state... with just one last twinkle of starlight before it turns dark. ]

[ Winter grits his teeth, cracking an eye open against the light, quietly cursting the side of his family that give him his preference for the dark. He mutters something under his breath in Primordial — probably in part an insult about his own father, but definitely also telling this distant voice it's not as funny as it thinks it is.

He can see enough to watch Sumina stir, to meet her gaze when she looks over at them both. I'll stay, she says, and something in him swells with relief. ]

Glad you hear it, because I simply wasn't planning on letting you go.

[ With one final heave, they pull her free, Mina colliding with them both. Well, unless someone's powers have anything to say about it, Winter doesn't mind tumbling back into the grass with the momentum. It somehow feels right to end this venture right where it began. ]

[ That's more like it. As the shadow gives way and Sumina returns to them fully, her shadow returning to its rightful place, Gojo offers up no resistance as the three of them tumble backwards into the grass. That could have gone much worse, yet they were able to pull her free — Sumina chose to return.

She really doesn't give herself enough credit for how strong and capable she is.

With one hand still grasping onto her, just in case, the other lifts to his blindfold, pushing it up over his hair to peer at them both with his natural gaze. ]

Welcome back, Mina. [ A warm smile, that passes to something more sheepish a moment later. ] Don't worry, your shadow made way less of a mess than we did!

[ He's helping! ]

[ Resolving the conflict with her shadow returning to its natural state and Sumina's being made whole once more feels very much like coming out of a stupor. And while one might argue that she might have gotten the most sleep that she's gotten in a long while in that state, could it really be considered restful when she'd been missing a part of herself...?

And so as she fully returns to herself, to the moment, to them, it's almost as if... everything over the last week starts to catch up with her. All those days spent without her shadow, pushing herself to try and catch up with it and resolve its many troublemaking instances by herself, narrowly escaping some rather frightful attacks... She's no adventurer, or thief, or jujutsu sorcerer. She isn't built for the stress of such an ordeal.

So as she peers at Winter and Gojo in turn, and all that's transpired coalesces in her mind, her starry eyes glisten and sting with something that she blinks back—

Before she hears what Gojo says, anyway. ]

...What do you mean by that...?

[ Somewhere in the tumbling, Winter’s tentacles retracted back to their usual form as tattoos on his skin. But, like Gojo, he keeps a hand on her. Like if he doesn’t she’ll slip away again.

If there is the start of tears in her starry eyes, he doesn’t mention it. He’s glad to have her back, and he’d hate to see her cry now.

… Well, she might still cry, but only out of frustration. Winter cuts Gojo a Look that clearly says “I thought we weren’t telling”, but the jig may be up. ]

Your shadow put up a bit of a fight, that’s all.

[ The jig is surely up, as Gojo will swiftly make sure of it, unable to restrain the smile that splits his face. It's better they tell her now, right? Rather than leave her in the dark...or maybe he just wants to talk about what a good time they had. ]

Don't worry, it wasn't anything we couldn't handle, but your shadow wasn't afraid to pull its punches!

[ Literally or metaphorically. ]

[ On the one hand, there's Winter, who is clearly giving Satoru a look and choosing his words carefully, his demeanor the picture of calm. And on the other, there's Satoru, who does not seem to take heed of the aforementioned look and carefully-chosen words, his expression instead bright and unrepentant.

In turn, even in her exhausted state, her brow furrows as she levels a what did you do sort of look at them. One that Winter has surely seen given towards careless new Blues. The sort of unimpressed look that Gojo himself has sometimes been subject to when his rizz fails him. ]

...What happened. Explain it to me clearly.

[ Yeah, alright the jig is up. He knows that look very well, and once she breaks it out, there’s really no getting out of whatever it is. Not even all his charm – he has tried and failed many times.

So, he heaves a sigh, drawing a hand through his hair. ]

Your shadow went on something of a… rampage of mischief, let's call it. Harmless pranks, mostly. When we came to collect it, it started a brawl at the tavern.

[ Heedless of the tone of the other two, Gojo leans forward with his elbows on his knees, framing his cheeks between his hands in perfect, utter delight. ]

Ahhhh, you should have seen us! You shadow put up a good fight, but it didn't stand a chance against me. Er...the two of us!

[ Sorry, Winter, he's just not used to really working alongside someone on a mission. He's a solo operative, most of the time, but they'd still synergized pretty well on the fly. ]

[ The duality of their responses... Truly seems to just sap her energy further, and even as she is shifting over them to sit upright on the ground rather than, ahem, on top of them, her body feels and looks like it bears a great burden over it. Her gaze sharpens at Satoru for a moment, in such a way that she's not looked at him before, just shy of being a glare, before she heaves a sigh of her own. ]

I need to get back to that tavern and make amends. This is completely unacceptable, regardless of whether I had any control over it. People could have gotten hurt because of what my shadow did.

[ She reaches up and scrubs at her face before... trying to get back up to her feet. It's not going well. ]

...Thank you both for your help.

[ Oh, he sees that near-glare being leveraged Gojo’s way, and pure instinct takes over – in the same way he very often does with the younger Bluecloaks when they get too rowdy or too disrespectful around the Elderflower – he reaches up to smack Gojo in the back of the head. (Whether or not he makes contact is another matter entirely.) ]

Stop that.

[ His other hand hasn’t left Sumina’s arm, and he tightens his grip just a little. ]

That’s just it, isn’t it? You didn’t have any control over it. Satoru and I will go instead. We’re the ones who willingly made a mess of the place, after all.

[ This is not up for debate, Gojo!! ]

You should get some rest. Being without your shadow takes a toll on you.

[ Fortunately, Gojo won't offer any protest — and he does allow for that smack upside the head to connect, because yeah, he deserves it. He's still of the mind that all's well that ends well, but he also will clean up after his messes for Sumina's sake. And Winter's too, since they both caused a fair bit of damage.

Offering a nod of solidarity: ]

Mh-hmm! We'll take care of it. All you need to worry about doing right now is resting. Will you do that for us, Mina-chan?

[ Leaning forward, he levels her with a pout, his bottom lip jutting out as he pleads their case. Do it for them!!! ]

[ The grasp of Winter's arm keeps her from succeeding in her endeavor to get up and start walking, and instead she sinks back onto the ground, first casting a weary look at the warlock and his continued grip, and then confronted by Satoru's pleading gaze and pouting.

...

Nice try. Perhaps their intervention is what caused the most destruction in this scenario, but it was still her shadow who instigated the encounter. And if there's one thing she knows from her inn, is that other NPCs were definitely hurt in the making of this thread.

Even in her exhaustion, Sumina slips into a familiar, professional mask as she negotiates: ]

I'll go with you both, and then I will rest. I'm sorry, but this is the compromise that I'm willing to settle on.

[ Winter gives Sumina a long look, the sort of look he gives her when he’s looking for a crack in her resolve for him to leverage. She may be tired, but there are no such cracks for him to take advantage of.

Ultimately, he heaves a sigh. ]

Fine, but then rest. Deal?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Event Log #002

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