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

Strange, isn't it? No one expects their shadow to be vital for survival until it's been taken away.

[It's a little concerning. Hers is still who knows where.]

Well, it's a good thing that you're back to normal.

Yes, it is. Ah...

[As his disorientation ebbs away, he realizes he's still latched on, blinking. He peels his fingers away soon after, retracting his hand, slowly and awkwardly.]

I suppose I owe you thanks. Proper thanks, for pulling me out.

[What's this? Is he feeling awkward? There's a tug on a corner of her lips. Maybe he really is shy.]

Of course. I wasn't about to step over you as you suggested.

[Shy!! Does he look shy to you!! ~~he's just allergic to sincerity~~]

Ha. [The sound isn't completely lacking humor. It does make his lips twitch upwards, just a tad.] So you've a bleeding heart under there, is that it? Or have I just grown on you that much?

Edited 2023-11-10 16:09 (UTC)

[He looks kind of shy (and allergic).

Maybe she just didn't want an uneven path on which to walk.]

I couldn't help thinking that you were acting out of character. If it had to do with the shadows, I wanted to know.

[Out of character is a kind way to put it. Kind enough to pretend like the resignation she saw was not a part of him that's floated up to the surface before. But his grin skews a little more angled, anyway.]

Oh, most certainly. Good thing now I'm feeling more... right as rain, so to speak, now that it's back.

But what about you?

[So it's the shadow, after all, the source of this trepidation. Fortunately, it sounds like it's something that can be fixed, if not without its dangers.]

It feels like something is missing, which I suppose is true.

[It's been true for years, but that feeling is more palpable with her shadow gone. Funny, how that works.]

Did yours find you first?

[These shadows sure be bringing out some issues that therapy could help, huh.]

You mean when it tried to swallow me whole? No, I had collapsed well before then. Suppose, then, it found me sometime after that.

[If there are details to recall, he doesn't recall them. So flush with exhaustion, everything between then and now is something of a blur.]

[Who needs therapy when there's a bunch of weirdos right there!

Her easy smile falters into a thoughtful frown. Collapsed? That's dangerous.]

Then I suppose the same is bound to happen to me at some point. I don't feel on the verge of collapsing, though.

[That means she has time, yes?]

You do. [Time for the half-glass empty viewpoint:] But for how much longer?

I suppose with any luck you won't lose your vigor at all, but who's to say?

[Not terribly, judging by how quickly everything is moving. She's been quite lucky all her life, considering, but is this something her body can withstand on its own?]

Luck isn't enough. The fact remains that my shadow and I are apart. Sooner or later, we'll have to come back together.

[He pauses, considering.]

Then we should seek it out as soon as possible. While you've still some of your strength.

[We?]

Are you offering to go with? How gentlemanly of you.

[We.]

Don't get me wrong, darling. I just don't like being indebted, that's all.

[That, she can get behind.]

Then I wouldn't mind the company.

[She glances around them.]

Now for the shadow . . . if we're going to do a sweep, we may as well start from the bottom.

The bottom? Ha, it's a sound strategy, but we might be here for quite a while if you want to go floor by floor.

I take it you can't takes cues from which floor your shadow might be on, based on your... own preferences?

Not unless there's a floor of poison, no.

[That seems like somewhere she would go.

She moves to backtrack downstairs. Still, she has a feeling that down there is better than a random floor, especially since there wasn't anything on hers.]

There very well could be.

[Though without knowing which floor that would be, they might as well start from the bottom and work their way up.

He sighs, and follows.]

[The day she stumbles across it will be a good day.

They make it down to thr first floor without incident, where they approach a strip of eateries. Reiju glances at Astarion.]

Have you already eaten?

[It's true, he's peckish, and he seems to be reminded of this as they pass by a collection of eateries.]

I haven't, but- [It's not like this would sate his hunger!] -I can wait. Your shadow is more important, dear.

[Little does she know.]

We can take something with us. I would hate for you to go without, because of a little shadow.

My dear, you worry too much. I've gone much longer without eating before. [Boy, has he.] I'll be fine.

All right, then.

[Though there's really no need for him to starve here, unless he's reluctant to pay up at his departure. She can say that she offered.]

Still, I'd like to take a look around, if it's all the same to you.

Very well. By all means. Perhaps we might find your shadow amongst the foodstuffs.

[He's joking, but... maybe.]

[That's the hope.]

Let's start with the fruits.

[She makes a beeline for a smoothie joint. Reiju makes a show of studying the bottled drinks and baked goods on display atop the counter when something dark blurs, flickering out of sight, by a basket of apples behind the employees manning the stand.]

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i forgot to hit send smh

the real final boss of dwrp . . . the post comment button

please avenge me

I've got you, friend.

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