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

[ Whether she's merely playing along or being serious, he can't tell, but it gets a quiet huff of laughter out of him all the same. ]

Maybe just try glue. Or staples. [ or zippers. ]

Better than plunging the entire hotel into darkness and hoping for the best. Ideally, one without windows, too. They can be covered, but it might still introduce some light — same for gaps around doors.

[ He starts heading off in a direction, not that he has any real idea of where he's going. ]

[Time to find Bruno. Or some industrial glue, since the staples would have to be strong, too.

A place so dark that someone might as well be dead to the world. She can think of one fairly fast as she trails after him.]

Do you suppose there's a basement somewhere?

That'd definitely work. If there is, I don't think I've seen it listed on the elevators… [ Still, that doesn't mean there isn't one, though. ] A service elevator, or stairwell maybe? Something that would be for staff only.

[ Maybe they'll run into the concierge after all. ]

If that's the case, would they let us in?

[Rather, would he let the restrictions stop him? Or is he a man who shirks the law for his convenience?]

Well, if they saw us, probably not. [ A glance over his shoulder to catch her eyes. ] So we'll just need to make sure they don't see us.

[ He's not above a little breaking and entering, even if it is only a service elevator. ]

Either waiting for when no one is around or distracting them with something else.

[Very bold—and reckless.

She's done (and attempted) her share of breaking and entering, so it's not as though she's above him in that regard. Rather, she finds herself wanting to exercise a little more caution when it comes to this place. As such, while she doesn't break away from him, she maintains her easy strides.]

Well, we're still a ways from the ground floor. Why don't we take a look around and see if anything else can be done on the way?

[ He's much the same himself, he'd really rather find a more straightforward solution to their problem than resort to outright rule breaking — that's more Mista or Narancia's field of expertise. ]

That would be preferable, besides, who knows what this hotel has to offer on each floor. They're rather nonsensical — I know there's at least once that's fairly dark, but I couldn't tell you what floor number it was. [ He'd been preoccupied. ] Maybe we can take the stairs, check each as we go?

[ Using an elevator to go floor by floor doesn't make much sense to him, and they run the risk of potentially missing out on something if they skip something otherwise. ]

[And given the sheer number of floors, she can't fault him for getting muddled.]

Yes, sounds like a plan. We can also use this opportunity to further acquaint ourselves with the hotel.

[That's the bright side of things before they look for the darkness.]

Knowing what we can find on floors will be helpful, I'm sure… So long as they don't change around, of course. [ Which he thinks they might, but he hasn't been able to confirm. ]

Still, whatever we can discover in the meantime will have to be good enough.

[ And with that he heads towards the nearest stairwell, making note of the floor number they're on, before holding the door open for Reiju and gesturing with a small nod towards it. After you, signora.]

What a gentleman.

[Smiling widely, she steps past and waits for him before descending the stairs. Midway down, she glances in his direction.]

Your composure is remarkable. Are you accustomed to this sort of thing?

[Whatever he chooses to construe "thing" as.]

You could say that.

[ If he didn't know by now that this was the hotel's doing, at least in some way or another, he'd surely be proclaiming, 'this must be the work of an enemy Stand!' ]

Not quite like this, but oddities that aren't easily explained to most aren't something I've never had to deal with before. [ Cocking his head to the side, he regards her, wondering how much he should say. Unseen to her, is Moody Blues mimicking the action behind him. ] Where I'm from, some people have… I guess you could call them abilities. Powers, that sort of thing.

[ Discussing Stands isn't something he's all that used to doing, especially his own, but he also can't see the harm in alluding to it. ]

[Her expression is steady as she continues to watch him, descending the stairs by measuring her steps.

Powers. Now, that's a thing she can grasp.]

My world has something similar—powers that only a fraction of the populace possess and are unique to the individual.

[ That's sort of a relief to hear, honestly, that her own world has something similar. Trying to explain anything otherwise probably ran the risk of him sounding crazy. It does leave him wondering if that means she's someone without powers, however. ]

I can't begin to imagine how that must have been exploited, with the fighting and such… Although, I guess it was the same where I'm from.

[ Without the literal war, anyway. He clears his throat, stepping down the last couple of stairs and pushing open the door to the next floor, in lieu of pressing the matter. ]

[Naples sounded quaint, but the emergence of oddities and powers paints an off-color layer over that picture. It's not so different from the rest of the world that way. Still, she ponders this as she exits the staircase and enters the floor.]

Are those oddities you've experienced violent in nature?

[ He thinks of the Stands he's encountered, and how they're all capable of violence that often times feels like it's at odds with their users. ]

They… can be. [ He almost adds mine isn't, but holds his tongue. ] Much like you described, they're largely varied based on their individual users, but I think most have the capability for violence if pushed.

[ ... ]

People are like that too, I suppose.

[Arching an eyebrow, she folds her arms under her chest. His last comment creates a strange distinction, but she reasons that he's not wrong to say that any tool can be damaging if used a certain way.]

Yes, that's the way most people are. After all, it's a direct shot at survival, no matter how desperate.

[ Well, when some Stands are sentient or even capable of behaving on their own, the distinction is called for. Though, she's not wrong in her assertion, either — he just wishes it was that simple. ]

For the most part, yes, but that doesn't mean some people won't resort to violence just because they can.

[ She's probably more than aware of that, though, she doesn't need a pessimist bringing up the fact that some people are simply shitty. ]

Anyway, this doesn't look too promising.

[ Gesturing out towards the sickly-sweet pastel colours of the walls, some of them painted with stripes of alternating pink, yellow, and white. The air carries an overwhelmingly perfumed scent to it, like they've been dropped right into the middle of a candy store. ]

[Yes, some people are simply the worst. There's no helping them. Good on Abbacchio for embracing that.

The floor, on the other hand, has something else in mind for the mood. It's a suitable enough distraction for Reiju, who saunters in farther.]

Do you dislike sweets?

[She runs a hand along the wall, inhaling the sweet aroma. It's nothing new, but maybe it can be useful.]

[ He spares a glance down at himself — black on more black, then back at the pastel walls. ]

I've nothing against sweets, but this feels like overkill. It's all so… pink, [ a shrug. ] Maybe one of the doors hides a dark centre.

[ The idea of the hotel housing a cotton candy looking floor that has an ominous secret hidden away deeper inside is something he can't say isn't sort of appealing, though. ]

[Reiju lets out a mirthful breath. She supposes he is surrounded by a great deal of that color.]

Maybe. At the very least, there must be something other than pink somewhere around here.

[After giving the corridor another onceover, she lowers her hand and walks over to reach for the nearest door.]

Careful, [ he inclines his head towards the door. ] We don't know what's on the other side, it wouldn't do if we were suddenly under assault by marshmallows.

[ Was that… a joke? Not a very good one, but he comes and joins her all the same. ]

Can the shadows interact with items? If anything, they'd be the ones throwing the marshmallows.

[Her open-mouthed smile speaks for her silent laughter at his warning. He's a funny one. She can also appreciate that he's accompanying her as she moves to open the door.]

I've been shot by hard candy before. I wonder if a marshmallow would be strong enough to penetrate skin.

[Well, it's time to find out. If they're lucky, a shadow will be on the other side.]

Maybe if it was small enough, and shot at the right velocity from a reasonable distance? Realistically, it would probably just melt unless it was used with a sling of some sort.

[ Why is he being so earnestly serious about this? ]

Anyway, I doubt we need to worry about that.

[ Dismissing it easily, as the door begins to creak open. The small glimpse inside doesn't look dark, but before the door can really open properly, it's slammed shut from the other side. Maybe they're in luck after all. ]

[Because he's an earnestly serious fellow. Reiju finds that part of him charming, so she takes it a step further in her mind and wonders how much of a punch a condensed marshmallow in a wrap would pack.

Then she opens the door and—oh. How rude.]

Who do you think that was?

Hm. Another guest, or maybe a member of staff. [ Here's hoping. ] I can't say we can rule out shadows.

[ Moving to stand closer to the door, he carefully positions himself between Reiju and any potential threat that might be on the other side, all the while having Moody Blues reappear, and readies to open the door again. ]

Watch out.

[ Moody's foot is placed between the door and the frame, hopefully preventing it from being closed again. ]

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