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

[ Sure. Surely the Shadow won't know. ]

Understood.

... Is it able to pass through objects?

Is that something you’re able to do normally?

[ His own shadow hasn’t been able to replicate his abilities, but that doesn’t mean hers will act the same, and even if it can’t pass through objects, they can still slip through cracks in doors and under furniture, right?

They’ll need to be quick. ]

No, but I don't quite know the properties of the shadows here.

[ But there's the split and she takes the designated direction at a run. She's light on her feet, despite all the armor. ]

[ Well, they'll have to see what happens, won't they?

Good thing she moves quickly, at least, and so does he, even without cheating with his technique. Soon enough, they meet up near the elevators where the shadow seems to notice Barghest charging for it first. ]

[ Well, she can hold its attention. Perhaps then it won't pick up on Gojo's presence, so Barghest narrows her eyes, sword drawn and flames flickering along the edge of it. ]

That's enough out of you!

[ Oh, hello? Flame sword??? ]

That's sick as hell! You're like a playable character in an RPG!

[ He can't help even as he dashes at the speed of light towards her shadow, aiming to pile drive it right to the ground. ]

I'm sorry, a what?

[ Well. Explain later. The shadow's still trying to shrink away but if Gojo can pile drive a shadow, let the man pile drive a shadow. ]

[ Hell yeah!! He knocks that shadow right to the ground, which might be kind of a painful landing for anyone else, but he pins down the shadow with ease. ]

You know, like from — hey! The hell —

[ His own shadow is pulling Barghest's free from beneath him, so the two can attempt to abscond together! ]

Oh no you don't--

[ She's slamming the sword into the ground, flames billowing off it to halt their progress. Apologies, Sumina, don't look at property destruction... ]

[ What she doesn't know won't hurt her...

Barghest's flames do the trick in cutting off the the shadows, and while Gojo's cursed technique might not have an effect on them, he's still plenty formidable without it, grabbing both shadows around their necks with one arm each and pinning them down to the floor. ]

...Heh. Nice try. What should we do with them?

[ A huff, exasperated. Not at him, but-- ]

I admit, I'm not certain how to get them to return to their original forms.

[ As in--just normal shadows. ]

Me neither. Doesn't seem like we can just knock 'em unconscious, either. Otherwise, that move should've taken them out.

[ They weren't exactly gentle with them... ]

Perhaps we need to position ourselves accordingly? In relation to where our shadows ought to be?

Worth a try...come grab yours, and we can give it a shot.

[ He sort of just...hefts her shadow over to her like a sack of potatoes. ]

[ And she reaches out to it.

The shadow kind of goes limp and unresisting, slipping to the floor through her fingers--

And oops, there goes Barghest's legs, suddenly being pulled down into the shadow. ]

What?!

[ ...Oh. Okay, that's a new trick he hasn't seen them use before, and Gojo's shadow takes advantage of his surprise to slip away again, darting down the hall. He considers pursuit, but it'd be kind of a dick move to just leave Barghest here on her own.

Good riddance, anyway. He'll surely be fine without his shadow awhile longer, so instead he grabs a hold of Barghest's arms to keep her from getting sucked in further. ]

Hold on! You're not going to the shadow realm today!

[ Somewhere out there, Megumi is rolling his eyes. ]

Such a realm exists???

[ Don't do this to her, Gojo. But he can grab on to one of her armor-clad arms as she too struggles to free herself, but it's almost like the shadow is diligently sapping her energy now. She can't pull free on her own. ]

Uhhh — only in anime! Let's just get you out of here —

[ Don't worry about the shadow realm for now!!! He gives her arms a powerful tug in an attempt to free her from the shadow's depths. ]

You're not gonna let yourself be defeated by some flimsy shadow, are you? C'mon!

Anime...?

[ The hell--

But she does twist again in the shadow's grip with a huff; she doesn't need the pep talk! And with his help, they manage to get her free and the shadow flattens against the wall, like it didn't do anything wrong. ]

[ He can explain anime in due time —

Fortunately, they manage to pull her free of the shadow's influence before it sulks against the wall. As he makes sure Barghest is steady on her feet once more: ]

You okay? All good?

Yes, I'm... fine.

[ Well, she's having a hard time staying upright, but she's Stubborn. ]

How irritating...

[ Yeah...he knows the feeling. ]

Eh...do you want a hand back to your room? You like you got your ass beat.

[ She shakes her head after a moment. ]

I'll be fine. We still need to pursue your shadow.

And I can teleport you back and pursue it on my own afterwards. Are you gonna tell me where your room is, or do I have to just warp to every floor until we wind up in the right place?

[ Don't think he won't! ]

If you lay a hand on me against my will, I will tear it off.

[ She can handle herself!! Sir! ]

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