hotelcaelum | 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

[Gale has been fortunate to have spent much of his time assisting others with their shadows instead of getting caught up with his own— but all of this has proven to him that their stay in this hotel is hardly the vacation it was advertised to be. It's chance, perhaps, that brings him to where he finds Gojo being pulled into that roiling pool of shadow, finding himself on the scene just as his friend manages to grab hold of a chair to keep himself from being dragged under— though Gale doubts that will be enough for long.]

Release him!

[A sharp gesture with his hands conjures spectral chains around the shadow as he puts it in a Hold, but its words were not lost on Gale, and he also knows that the spell won't stall it for long. With as strong as these shadows are, it will break free within moments, but he can only hope it will be enough to help Gojo free himself. Though the man in question appears to be stunned in place, the wizard moves forward to extend a gloved hand to him, beckoning for him to take it.]

You cannot listen to it, my friend!

[ Waylaid as he is by the shadow's effects — both in not having it for as long as he has, and this new psychological attack of it's — it takes him a moment to even fully realize that Gale has arrived to help him, and cast chains to bind his shadow before it can pull him in any deeper. But is that really what he wants? It's...right, isn't it? He should just...

— No, he absolutely can't listen to it, and that's the worst part about it. He knows he's being had, he knows that voice isn't real, and yet, no small part of him still wants to listen to it.

For the time being, however, Gale's hand in his own keeps him anchored. ]

Ah...this is embarrassing. Not very "greatest sorcerer" of me, huh?

[ He murmurs, still pretty out of it, but at least he manages to focus his attention on Gale. ]

Perhaps not, but I've a tale or two of my own that will make you feel much better once you're out of this!

[He's had a few wizarding mishaps in recent months that aren't quite befitting his station. He grabs hold of Gojo's hand tightly, striking the floor with his staff and using it to root himself in place so that the pull of the shadow doesn't easily drag them both under.]

I can pull you out, but I'll need your help— your focus! You must reject what it's telling you!

[ That's...right. He has to want to be free of the shadow to escape, doesn't he? That's how it's worked before, and logically, even with how lethargic he feels, he knows this, but —

This shadow, this voice...he cannot so easily escape from. If he could he would have done so long ago.

"Well? Are you able to do that, Satoru? Reject me, again?" ]

Urghhhhh, shut up —

[ His grip on Gale's hand redoubles, as he tries to focus. Tries to drown it out, even when the sentiment of this voice comes from himself.

Easier said than done. ]

That's it! Just like that!

[He tightens his grip as he feels the shadows pulling Gojo away from him, threatening to cause him to lose it entirely, and he glares sharply at the shadow itself, as though it would be enough to weaken its resolve.

He knows it won't be. The only ones who can break a shadow's hold in truth are those it belongs to.]

You are able to do this, Gojo. It's using your own thoughts to manipulate you, twisting them!

[After this, he is absolutely going to see if bro needs to talk, because egads.]

[ That itself is plain as day, isn't it? Even knowing full well that he's being manipulated, that this isn't real, it's still so damned hard not to fall for it, to listen to that voice. If he stays here, it might keep speaking to him, right? Even if it only says things to hurt him —

No. He has to do better than that this time. Even if the stakes are different here, it's the same trick that trapped him in Shibuya, and he won't be made a fool twice. ]

...Sorry, that trick isn't going to work on me this time.

[ Said to his shadow, before he renews his efforts once more, pulling himself upwards with Gale's help, at last able to pull his legs from out of the void of shadow. ]

[Gale exhales steadily, giving his friend a firm nod of approval, encouragement. Gojo's words make it quite clear that this isn't the first time he's experienced something of this nature, which begs any number of questions— questions he has every intention of asking— but seeing his friend pull himself free is what's most important in the here and now.]

Well said, my friend.

[Standing against one's shadow seems to be the key, along with being bodily pulled free. He loosens his grip for Gojo's sake, but does not release him fully, instead glaring at the shadow in question.]

I believe you know where you ought to be by now. You'll not take his place.

[ For a moment, the shadow ripples, almost as if it is...embarrassed, cowed into submission, for even as Gojo's shadow, it has a fair amount of pride. Still, once Gojo has stepped free of its influence, there is nothing else for it to do but return from whence it came.

With a swirling blue flash, the shadow circles around Gojo's feet on the floor, before falling into place where it belongs, still and unmoving. Gojo can feel the shift immediately, like it's the first time he's been able to fully fill his lungs with air since his shadow first departed. Thank god that's over...

Once he's sure he's steady on his own two feet, he lets go of Gale's hand. ]

...Thanks. I owe you one for the save. How embarrassing, though...

[ Turns out his shadow wasn't the only one embarrassed. ]

Nonsense.

[He gives a firm shake of his head as Gojo releases his hand, glancing past him once more to ensure that the shadow has, indeed, receded for good. At the moment, it does appear to be just the two of them— certainly preferable.]

No doubt you would have done the same, were our situations reversed. It would seem you have a lot on your mind.

[Perhaps this isn't the moment to discuss it, but that taunting didn't come out of nowhere.]

If you ever do wish to unburden yourself, I've found a place here in the hotel with excellent ambiance that serves an exquisite whiskey.

Event Log #002

b to Break the equiliBrium

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