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

[ The maid takes Odette's disregard for her own injury in stride, moving gracefully to dab away the excess blood with the handkerchief with gentle, fleeting presses of her cold hand. One thing about being a servant is being able to know the appropriate amount of space to give someone — and it's clear enough that Odette does not want to be hovered over. She'll just neaten up the wound... and moreover, she doesn't show an ounce of outward concern for her, her expression cooling back into a pleased neutral. After a measured pause: ]

...Might you be used to injuries such as these?

[ She asks, chuckling softly under her breath. That must be the explanation, right? And it's a better topic of discussion than ruminating on how things that don't hurt still being able to destroy you. Giselle became unfeeling, yes — truly, wholly immortal and untouchable. But in exchange, the absence of sensation, instead, is what hurts most. ]

I've had worse. [Simple enough from someone who should be reeling but is simply enduring. With her head throbbing from the hit as it is, it's easy to imagine the screaming twist of metal burning and collapsing, a memory that holds no particular terror for her but that lives in her mind like a vivid dream. There are silent injuries that are starker, worse. So she got hit by a cast-iron; so what?] Some of us only get some of the fun perks outta cheating death.

[There's a single, recoiling hiss that she lets slip between her clenched teeth; it's the only evidence that the flowing wound stings at all under Giselle's neutral and unbothered attention. But pain still clearly is on the table - as is bleeding, weakness. Really all she's doing is running wild with her stolen time.]

Gonna black out if I don't sit soon. [She says it like she's describing the traffic.] Mind if I find a place to squat and have a glass?

[ "Some of us only get some of the fun perks outta cheating death." Her chest tightens at the words, despite her face remaining as still and mask-like as ever — though she's not quite sure if she can name the emotion she feels in that moment. Relief or excitement, to come across someone who might understand what it is like to be out of reach of the realm of the living? Suspicion, at the topic being so bluntly brought up?

Well. Probably better not to quantify it at all. Courteously, with a formal bow of her head: ]

As you wish.

[ At least it's simple enough to answer — she'd never refuse a request like that, so she rescinds her handkerchief, folding it neatly and letting it return to its proper place on her person. Here's where she would usually advise a guest not to walk with such an injury, and to insist on bringing aid to them... however, Odette has already said she's had worse than this, and it would be an insult to imply that she could not correctly take stock of herself. It's always a balancing game, with manners like these. ]

Would you like assistance as you walk? I can escort you.

[Getting normal people wrapped up in the business of Divine Selection was more of a headache than it was worth. It isn't that Odette cared much for their wellbeing, but there's always the hurdle of unbelievable things. The only people worth getting caught up in things were the ones who could provide some leverage. Giselle has already proven herself to be on the freak side of things, the way she took a knife even more unusual than simply mysteriously avoiding any fatal injuries. If anyone can wrap her mind around being roped into the scheme, it's her.]

Be my guest. Keep an eye out for our worse halves, though; if they're even half as tenacious, we could be in for another bruising.

[Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville would give her a headache if she hadn't had her skull bashed in, so that floor's out. They'll just have to find the hotel floor with the hole-in-the-wall bar where she can sit in the back corner and do some quick field medicine.]

Let's book it before they catch up, then maybe we can lay low a bit.

[They'll have to deal with their shadows later, but for now we might be able to leave them here to find a bar and catch their breaths.]

Event Log #002

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject