tushanshu_logs | [Midnight Hotel] May catch-all

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[Midnight Hotel] May catch-all

Characters: Anyone, everyone.
Date: Month of May, ‘2016’.
Location: The Midnight Hotel.
Situation: Catch-all post! Feel free to use this post for anything that happens within the Midnight Hotel during the month, using the subject header to label specific rooms or for specific people. See also the OOC note at the bottom.
Warnings/Rating: None thus far.

After the bustle of the last two weeks the Hotel seems oddly empty for a little while, with everything packed up and stored away. That feeling will be exacerbated by some of the Foreigner residents moving out over the course of the month, either to their own housing in Sky Sector or their own apartments elsewhere, and for the first time in quite a while the Hotel may have a few empty rooms.

It will, however, be full of flowers for a good part of May. Though originally provided by Xion in the public areas, Anton seems to be making sure every part of the Hotel, from public to private, has a bit of colour around unless specifically asked otherwise, such as for health reasons.

People may notice a bit of a glitch in the Hotel’s main doors. While ordinarily the exit sector can be chosen using sigils by the door, this month the pearl-white haze around its edges will putter every time someone changes it. Every now and then the glitch might cause someone to emerge in Sky Sector instead of their intended target—though the exit building will be different every time, as if the Hotel hasn’t quite decided yet where to settle its doors. Since it isn’t harmful Anton won’t bar people from using the switches, though he will recommend avoiding doing so; all this means is that the exit defaults into Central.

As a result, late at night when the doors aren’t being heavily used, Anton can be seen reviewing the wards around the entrance and trying to pin down exactly how the Hotel is, apparently, growing a new exit.

This month Anton will also be uncharacteristically emotional—though all this really means is that he alternates between being definably melancholic (prone to staring wistfully at sketches or a specific page in a dictionary) or unusually, and exasperatedly, entertained. The latter can be visibly attributed to the tablet newly propped up on the reception desk, displaying a picture of Anton, Skulduggery and that annoying bloke that was around last fortnight with his arms around their necks, pulling them down to his height. The tablet regularly announces times and tasks put into the tablet’s calendar for Anton’s convenience … and some of which aren’t to his convenience at all.

“Bing bing bing! This is your regular inspirational reminder of a delightfully important word: poop.”

“Boopity boop! Hey Anton, it’s two o’clock! You know what that means? That means it’s time to go be social. I know, it’s tough, be strong! You can do it!”

“Diddly do! Seven o’clock! Time to get laid!”

Though Anton will turn down these particular voiceovers so they at least don’t permeate the whole lobby, he still won't turn them off completely.

[ooc: The Midnight Hotel’s status page is available here, with the rules at the top and ongoing status at the bottom. PLEASE POST TO THE STATUS PAGE IF YOUR CHARACTER WOULD LIKE A ROOM, JOB OR AREA IN THE GARAGE OR ARE MOVING OUT. Anton will manufacture means of payment until Foreigners are able to properly offer recompense or choose to move out.

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It isn't long after Meisheng hangs up that Akito begins to feel the panic begin to build in his chest, and he can't think of anyone to talk to about this. He already bothers Callaghan enough about minor things; this isn't something he wants to bother the man with - somehow Akito doesn't think he would take it well, or be able to offer unbiased advice.

The only person he can think of to go to is Anton. The man is the most neutral person Akito knows, and while he promised Meisheng not to share what she spoke to him with, that doesn't mean he can't try and get some kind of support. There's a risk, however, and he knows it. So instead of his usual appearance or the adopted second-face, Akito darkens his skin to a shade he's seen on many Metalworkers, styling his hair accordingly, and increases his height by a couple of inches.

He doesn't mess around with his height often for a reason. It's dizzying and uncomfortable and it changes everything about how he moves... But that's exactly what Akito wants. He pulls on a set of kedan robes that he doesn't wear often - a little too big normally, but a perfect fit now.

It takes a lot longer to get to the Hotel's entrance by foot, and Akito would have thought the walk would calm him down but by the time he makes it to the Hotel lobby he can't stop the shaking in his hands, so he hides it under his sleeves. He doesn't have the faintest idea how he would lure Jintou out of the hotel, but he does know that he doesn't want to.

Akito keeps up his disguise even as he addresses Anton, trusting that his face and voice will be enough for the man to recognize him. "Mister Anton, do you have a few minutes?"

It took a moment for Anton to recognise Akito, but he had seen Akito's network posts and while he hadn't responded, he did know Akito could change his face. "Of course," he said, and moved out from behind the desk with a dustpan and brush, and a rag and soapy spray bottle. "Please, come with me while I clear the tables in the commons. What can I help you with?"

As much as he wants to shift back into an appearance he's more comfortable with, Akito isn't sure if it's safe for him to just yet. Not that he worries about his own safety, but Malcil's...

He follows Anton obediently, letting himself return to his usual height as they go. Being short is much more comfortable. "What would you do if you were given a choice of saving one person from death by condemning another to torture?"

Straight to the point, and non-specific enough that he can't be accused of giving anything away. Still, Akito keeps his voice low, wary of any eavesdroppers.

"I would decline," said Anton immediately, leaning down to brush crumbs and dust off one of the coffee-tables, and then spraying it to wipe it down with the rag. "One cannot define the choices of others, only one's self. To use a potential death against me as though I alone am responsible for its occurrence would be an act of dishonourable manipulation. I have never heard a circumstance of such a choice when the death was not, in truth, caused by the wilful act of someone else."

Anton straightened up, folding the rag. "There are things worse than death," he said quietly, thinking of some of his friends and what they had suffered during the war. "Torture is one of them. To condone the torture of one, even with the intent of saving another, is still condoning torture. And that is still an evil act." He looked at Akito then, and his gaze was perhaps piercing, because that question had not come out of nowhere. Akito had come here, specifically, to ask it. "Has someone put such a choice to you, Akito?"

Edited (wording) 2015-05-19 11:09 (UTC)

Akito wishes he could continue to think well of Meisheng, even after all she's done, but giving him the hope of saving Malcil only to crush it under the weight of an impossibly difficult situation... He crosses his arms across his chest and unconsciously curls in on himself. It makes him appear smaller, but it also gives him some manner of comfort.

Anton's words are also comforting in their own way. He had thought someone so old and learned would be better suited to give him their thoughts on such a situation, and he wasn't wrong. It's nice to hear such a concrete response.

"I just don't want anyone else to get hurt because of me."

He hadn't even been given the time to think over his answer. Promising to try was the best he could offer, hoping his words hadn't sealed the fate of his remaining Chihuelan attacker.

Akito can't answer Anton's question right now - definitely not here, in the open. But he knows the man is smart enough to figure it out by listening to what he's not saying.

Anton regarded Akito for a few moments longer, regarded the way he folded in on himself and cast his gaze down. He remembered the boy's console broadcast just after the Snakes' representative, about his attackers and his fear and indignation. Chances were it was to do with one of them, then.

With a sigh Anton put a hand on the boy's shoulder and squeezed gently. "It's difficult when you feel responsible for the suffering of others," Anton said quietly. "But there is a difference between being responsible and being only tangentially relevant. Whoever it is you're afraid for ... and however much you may be culpable for their current circumstance ... their fate is now out of your hands, and you do no service to anyone to sacrifice your integrity in the hope of helping them. Integrity is all we truly own. Without it, what are we?"

Gentle comforting gestures are still strange to him, but after spending enough time with Callaghan they are no longer a surprise. His body quivers under Anton's hand; the only involuntary movement that gives away how anxious he feels. Despite the man's words, Akito knows he has to do something.

"There has to be a way I can save one without endangering the other, right?" There hasn't been enough time. He's sure if he can sit down and think it over he'll be able to figure something out. "I said I would try, but trying isn't the same as succeeding. I just don't know if he'll be saved even if I try and fail."

"No," Anton said simply. "Sometimes there isn't a way to save everyone, Akito. It is often worth trying, yes--but denying the possibility of failure usually only leads to greater failure." His tone turned gentle.

"I understand the desire to act, but if acting in the past is what created the problem, is it wise to act again? There are times when it's best not to act at all, as difficult as that may be. There are times when not acting means removing yourself from the games that others are forcing you to play, and that can give you openings you could not otherwise see."

Needing to act was the desire of youth. Sometimes it wasn't as easy as that. Even on the basis of Anton's little information, this was probably one of them.

"I know that... At home we lost good friends, and there wasn't anything we could do to help."

At least, in the end, Yoshitsune and Spitfire didn't die in vein. Still, it hurts to think that their deaths could have somehow been prevented if they had been stronger, tried hard enough, or were able to be there to help. Akito is fully aware that nothing he could have done would have made a difference, but every now and then he can't help but dwell.

"I need to help him though. I know there's something I could do to help. I just... I just need to think about it more. I have some more time to- to think." To think, and stop panicking. Akito had training for some situations, but never for the delicate, political games he's somehow found himself in the middle of. "There are four pieces in this game, and if one has to be crushed for the others to move forward... I. Logically, I would be the most disposable. The one with the least importance. So that would be okay. If I could... If somehow I can make it so... If someone has to get hurt, it can be me, and then everything will be okay."

"Akito." Anton took Akito's shoulders and made him sit, and sat with him so they were eye-to-eye. His voice was firm, but not unkind. "That's enough. You are no more or less disposable than anyone else, and the fact that you leap instantly to placing yourself into harm instead of pursuing other avenues is foolish. Now, since you've come to me I assume you would like help; since you're being oblique, I imagine it hasn't yet occurred to you what that actually means."

His voice softened. "You are panicking and not thinking clearly, and that is dangerous--to you as well as to those you seek to save. Therefore, I will point out the obvious option you've not properly considered: putting the matter in someone else's hands. Who is in danger, Akito, and who have you been asked to trade for them? Who has made this request of you?"

Anton could guess. He could very much guess, and he rather thought he'd hit close to the mark. But he would give Akito the chance to come clean before he pretended at being Skulduggery.

Akito lets his disguise drop completely, trusting enough of the Hotel that his visit won't be used against him by any possible onlookers, and wanting to feel like he's in his own skin again. It's more comfortable, which might soothe his nerves somewhat.

His body is tense, even sitting. Anton is right - just saying things Akito already knows. Or mostly right, at least. He could argue his point on disposability in this situation if he felt like bothering, but he doesn't, especially as it would need him to give away more information than he intends.

"I made a promise of confidentiality," Akito says slowly, taking time to word things to the best of his ability. "Breaking it would put everyone involved at risk."

A pity. While Anton did believe that some promises should be broken, given the right circumstances, he also couldn't very well talk of integrity and in the same conversation ask Akito to sacrifice some of his, even if Anton doubted the validity of everyone being at risk at the breaking.

"Then let me hazard a guess," he said, "that you've been contacted by the Snakes. Meisheng, perhaps? She's far more amiable than Yunxu and more able to make requests without threats, particularly to someone as young as yourself. And I imagine she's offered you the chance to rescue one of the Chihuelans the Snakes took into custody some weeks ago, hence your sense of responsibility for this mysterious prisoner's well-being."

The next part was trickier, and could go either way. But Skulduggery had warned Anton beforehand that Jintou used to be of the Snakes, and therefore the probability Yunxu would be interested in his return. "As for the person they asked you to give over," Anton continued, "it could be Jintou, but if so it's rather a risk for you to come to me about your problem, knowing as I imagine you do that Jintou is under my protection; so it could very well be someone about whom I know nothing, hiding elsewhere. However, Jintou used to be of the Snakes, which gives the Snakes motive to retrieve him, so I am inclined to lean in favour of his life being the one requested in exchange for the Chihuelan. How close am I?"

Anton certainly wasn't Skulduggery; Skulduggery would be disappointed in Anton for revealing his thought process. But he knew how the skeleton thought, enough to use the same means, and he watched Akito closely to read his face and his behaviour in the event the boy chose not to explicitly answer. Even if he was wrong, chances are he'd be able to tell based on Akito's reaction.

It would be too easy to give things away unintentionally by how his body responds. It's... worrying, and Akito knows his reaction has given away that Meisheng contacted him, which likely gives away the rest. In an effort to prevent giving away even more, Akito recedes back into his empty mindscape, making it infinitely more difficult to move his body without expressly thinking about it.

"...I couldn't say. It would be stupid to come here if it involved someone under your protection."

It really was stupid, and if not for the detached control he has over his body at the moment, he's not sure he would be able to keep from having a panic attack. Everything is so stressful and Akito doesn't know who to turn to for help - not without risking Malcil's life. And the Chihuelan has invaluable information that Yunxu may or may not have extracted already.

"I am involved in more things than most people would think."

The way Akito became detached spoke of long conditioning and didn't adequately confirm Anton's suggestion that the trade involved Jintou. But that didn't matter; the rest was solid enough that Anton was confident in standing by it, and if that was the case then Anton knew enough to take action himself.

"You asked for my help," Anton said quietly. "You have given me no explicit details, and so you haven't broken your oath. So I say this: do nothing, Akito. Do nothing, because then I can step in. When your foe expects you to play by their rules, the very best thing you can do is introduce a new element and make their rules obsolete. That new element is me. You don't need to be concerned I will come to harm, and I am not bound by oaths and limitations. Do nothing, Akito, because by coming to me, you've already done it."

"I can't just... Sit idly by, when there is something I could do to help."

It's hard to think of not actively trying to help Malcil himself, and he doesn't know Anton well enough to guess as to what he'll do. He wonders if there's any other vague information he can give without breaking his word. A person is only as good as their word, as they say.

"What they want goes against the rules of this place," Akito offers carefully. It's not explicitly saying that it involves the hotel - merely explaining what Anton might expect.

"I suspected it would." The Hotel was founded on the principles of integrity. For it to give Akito such grief, it made sense that it was something that went against those principles.

"But you've already done something to help, Akito," said Anton. "You've come to me. Despite what you apparently believe, getting help is often enough." He wasn't quite sure what he was going to do yet; he needed more information. But he had an inkling, and he didn't need the help.

Learning when not to act for the good of others was difficult, but it was apparently something Akito needed to learn.

Getting help was something he had always been taught against. If you had to ask for help, it meant you weren't good enough to do it on your own. And if you can't do it on your own, then you're all but worthless. Of course, Akito knows better than that but it's still something that's stuck with him over the years.

So he nods at what Anton says, doing his best to take it to heart. "I'm used to the times when it isn't."

"It's not easy, knowing the difference," Anton said simply, satisfied that Akito if not understood the wisdom of patience then was willing to try it. He rose, putting a gentle hand on the boy's head, like he'd used to do with his younger brothers. "Thank you for coming to me, Akito. I'll be sure to tell you when I've succeeded."

Not if. When.

Akito leans into the hand and then, tentatively, gives Anton a hug, "Thanks, Mr. Anton."

It was a touch startling, and as always Anton's first impulse was to pull away. He didn't, because Akito was still young and while Anton was averse to hugs for himself, he wasn't for children.

Akito was too short to hug him properly back, though, so Anton ran his fingers through his hair instead. "You're quite welcome."

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[Midnight Hotel] May catch-all

shortly after meisheng's message

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