battymynameis: (pic#12257354)
Batty ([personal profile] battymynameis) wrote in [community profile] exhibitionistsbox2019-05-04 12:16 pm

Hot Springs and Ryokan



Guess what, y'all. It's time for a field trip. We're heading to a Hot Springs and an Inn for the weekend, and everyone is invited. This place is huge, and has multiple springs both indoor and out. There's separate bathing, mixed, and even a spot for foreigners and prudes who like to keep their swimsuits on. Table tennis? Got it. Room service? You bet. Massages? Possibly. Ghosts? Maybe.


1. Hot springs: after you rinse off come take a relaxing bath. There are multiple options as to what kind of bathing environment you can have, so please choose wisely. Also, please read the signs. None of the springs will kill you, but if you choose the wrong one you might end up with some... adverse effects. Cursed springs might just be a Thing.

2. The Inn: you'll be here for a few nights so find your rooming buddy and get friendly. Whether bonding over food, games, or even just exploring the place there's certainly something you can find to occupy yourself. Just don't be too curious after curfew. The staff are pretty insistent, but they aren't cops so responsibility for your actions are your own.
hackerlad: なくなくさん @ pixiv id 6890169 (uuuh)

[personal profile] hackerlad 2019-05-15 04:38 am (UTC)(link)
[Yeah, the looming was kind of--you know--9S did his valiant best to avert his eyes, at least!! Until Mash ends up sinking down herself. This is kind of a mutual relief, since...in this fashion, it's definitely a lot easier to actually. Talk, and also look at each other? Without trying to rival a tomato in complexion?? Yeah....]

W-Well, that's--okay, yeah, that would have been a bit less awkward. But you probably, must have been pretty worried, to pull me back up like that anyway...? Look, let's--we can both pretend this totally never happened! And both be sorry about it?! I mean, I'm still pretty sorry too...

[Ah, does this even make sense...the chances are good that he's half just kind of, babbling the first things to come to mind at this point, and 9S finds himself at that embarrassing sort of stage where he's aware of it but still can't actually make himself stop. --Until he bobs down a bit to submerge his mouth too, a sort of subconscious inspiration taken from Mash's own bout of mortified bubbling. Blub...it's a mood....

--Though actually, it ends up reminding him of something, and--9S rises back up just enough to speak again, after an awkward moment's pause.]


...Actually--hold on. Humans can't breathe underwater, right? ...Can they not hold in air for very long either? [Because that...would actually explain a lot, whoops.....]
shieldher: (56)

[personal profile] shieldher 2019-05-15 06:58 pm (UTC)(link)
[The edge begins to ease off of her. 9S's obvious anxiety over the whole thing makes Mash feel guilty, but also less alone, and that's something. At least they're both in this mortifying situation together, blubbing away! She takes a deep breath through her nose, soothing herself; the warm water really does help with that, too. It's beginning to become clear why people pay to soak in these things despite the public nudity aspect.

By the time she surfaces to answer the question properly, she's feeling better, if still very, very red.]


Ah . . . yes, you're right. The average human can hold their breath for under two minutes, though there are training techniques to improve that. But without training, it gets concerning after a minute.

[At times like this, she can sound like she's reading from an online search or something, which isn't that far from the truth.]
hackerlad: (i need more eye icons tho actually)

[personal profile] hackerlad 2019-05-16 04:57 am (UTC)(link)
[MUTUAL BLUBS...combined with very pleasantly warm water--it is a little harder to stay tense when these things are at play, isn't it? Man, this would definitely be a lot worse if it were happening anywhere else...though then again, would an incident like this actually happen anywhere else either?

Well--never mind that--really, even if most of it was babbling, 9S would be pretty happy to just proceed as if the last five minutes hadn't actually happened. As impossible as it is to actually willfully forget about it, though, the slight shift in topic helps too...and 9S is already perking up with visible interest.

Like, sure, that was a surprisingly thorough response, but--it's honestly kind of refreshing in its detail! Most people don't bother to answer things nearly that helpfully, you know? In his experience, anyway... 9S may also be biased about this since he pulls from the database for more trivial things half the time himself, which is basically the same thing as reading from an online search anyhow--]


Under two minutes, huh? Wow, that isn't for very long at all... [A hand emerges from the water on his end, if only so he can wave it around a little in a vague but intrigued sort of gesture.] Geez, it's no wonder you were starting to get worried, in that case! Us androids can retain air intake for about five minutes or so, I'd say? That's the average with the tests I've run on myself, anyway! And that probably varies depending on body size too, but it seems to be a pretty decent baseline. I--aha... [Ah, a second hand emerges--and now he can raise both of them in a thoroughly apologetic sort of gesture, with a sheepish smile to accompany it.] I wasn't running any tests this time around, though! I was just...er, since these baths are--really, really nice? I've never been able to soak as much as I want before! Sooo...

[Mmmmaybe he was trying to take advantage of his five minutes being underwater in this particular instance, yeah........]
shieldher: (73)

[personal profile] shieldher 2019-05-17 08:19 pm (UTC)(link)
[Aha, everything makes sense now! And, on top of that, is very interesting to listen to; Mash sits up a little herself at last so she looks a little less pathetic for the conversation. New knowledge is always worth sitting up for!]

I really should have realized. I guess I was caught up in the moment and acted without thinking. I really am sorry! But . . . now that I'm in here myself, I can completely understand!

[She swishes a hand through the water, thoughtfully. Even just feeling the warmth through her fingers is soothing. Is this the power of the natural world or what? Maybe she's just been more stressed than she realized?! Well, that one's very likely. It's probably a combo of both.]

There's something about it that makes me want to push my body to the limits of relaxation! . . . That sounds a little strange when I put it that way. Maybe it's an oxymoron, but that is how I feel . . . so, I think I know where you're coming from. I don't think I could last for five minutes, though.

[Though it would be more of a close match than if she were an ordinary human. Not that she's thinking of a competition or anything. Of course not . . . ]

Is this your first time, then? It's mine too.
hackerlad: なくなくさん @ pixiv id 6890169 (being happy sure is great gosh)

[personal profile] hackerlad 2019-05-18 06:12 pm (UTC)(link)
[New knowledge is always, definitely, worth sitting up for!! How relieving, that they've managed to find the key to moving past mutual embarrassment like this....(by mutually nerding out over hot springs, apparently, but look. If it works, it just works!)]

Hah, I don't know about strange...but it does sound kind of intense when you put it like that! ["Pushing the limits of relaxation" sounds like a self-contrast if he's ever heard of one, for sure, but the idea's earning a good-natured laugh.] I think I sort of get what you mean, too? Like, being able to see just how much you can relax...or something like that. May as well go full out while we can be here, right?

[A competition would probably even fall under that category too, to be fair....a breath-holding tournament would sure be a way to pass time in hot springs. Are hot springs games even a thing normally? Maybe they should be!! But anyway--]

First time...oh, being to one of these resort things, you mean? Yeah, definitely! I bet it's been kind of obvious... [As the earlier awkwardness is gradually eroded by the much less mortifying topics at hand now, 9S starts to wade his way over to Mash properly, until he's settling more beside her as opposed to hovering an embarrassed yard away. So they're at a more conversational distance, finally!] It seems like a lot of people here have done this before, or at least know what to do? You'd never have any luxuries like this back home, though... [He shrugs, water swirling around his shoulders, and then beams at her.] It's actually kind of nice to know I'm not the only one that's new to this after all! Do you think you've gotten the hang of it yet?
shieldher: (07)

[personal profile] shieldher 2019-05-20 04:39 am (UTC)(link)
[She expects to feel a little more embarrassed at a naked boy moving closer to her in the baths—and she's not zero percent embarrassed, but she is only maybe ten percent embarrassed instead of the anticipated fifty. Not bad! She's getting this down!]

I think I'm starting to. I learned how to play table tennis! That's a lot of fun. But before this, I had only read about this kind of place. It's so different from anything I've ever experienced.

[Mash tips her head back to look up at the open-air rafters over in the rinsing area, and then beyond that, to the areas of the ryokan that she knows are a little more populated right now. Between their own conversation here, she can hear the sounds of the others having antics filtering in and across the water. It's strangely soothing even when it's concerning . . . which it often is, considering the crew here. More than once it's the sound of someone fighting. But, you know, in the way that at least sounds like it's fun?]

And reading about it can't really prepare you for what it's like with other people, either! It does feel like everyone's right at home here. But, for what it's worth, I couldn't tell you didn't know what you were doing either! Maybe I've been a little caught up in myself . . .
hackerlad: <user name=bestaround> (we're chill)

[personal profile] hackerlad 2019-05-25 03:53 am (UTC)(link)
[Honestly, it's not as if 9S wouldn't normally have at least a few reservations about moving closer to a naked girl in turn himself--but the water's got a pale quality to it here (something about the mineral composition in it?), making it harder to see through and easier to forget about the little things, like awkward nudity or what have you. Not to mention the soothing heat of it all, and the genuine interest of the conversation at hand...with everything combined, he ends up closing the distance without actually thinking too hard about it, eventually settling beside Mash with his back against the edge of the bath. This makes it easier to follow her line of sight from the rafters to the distantly audible strains of Shenanigans off in the distance...ah.....

(Really, 9S is starting to fall under the unfortunate impression that petty slapfights are just, always a thing in places like this...but yeah, it sure is a crowd here, isn't it?)]


Hah, I'd never even read anything about something like this before...never found any records about this sort of thing, anyway. I'd always heard about humans constructing whole facilities to spend free time at--like amusement parks, and things? But a resort dedicated to a bunch of giant hot baths... [He laughs, shaking his head.] I mean, it even sounds kind of weird out loud! To me, anyway? Not that it's a bad thing, either, but I sure don't know how people actually think up things like this!

[His glance shifts back to Mash eventually, though, as his attention does the same; 9S smiles ruefully.]

I mean, I dunno, you did manage to notice me ducking under water for way too long.... [Never mind how that fell a lot more under "looks like drowning" than "looks like he has no clue what he's doing"--] Still, that's fair. I didn't know you were here too! I'd like to think I'm usually pretty good at tracking my surroundings, but there's, uh. A lot of distractions here... [He shrugs, the movement eliciting a bit of a splash, before tilting his head a little.] --Oh, speaking of which, though. What's "table tennis"?
shieldher: (07)

[personal profile] shieldher 2019-05-28 03:03 am (UTC)(link)
Oh! I'll show you later, if you want! It's a game where two or four people hit a ball back and forth across a table with paddles.

[Once again, she's kind of hype to describe it; it's fun, after all! She worked up a sweat with Kaname! And anything that's fun is worth her enthusiasm, no matter how mundane it might be for other people. For her, it's a new experience to drink in.]

You hit the ball to one another until someone gets it past their opponent. The rules are a little more complicated than that, but that's the main goal. It's a lot more active than it sounds, once you get used to the rhythm and learn strategy.

[Maybe he'll want to play with her! The thought is exciting. Of course she hadn't won against Kaname, and was a beginner herself, but teaching someone else is just a different kind of fulfilling, and they'll be on more even ground . . .

It's funny: thinking about a silly game where you hit a ball back and forth on a table isn't that different from thinking about the existence of a resort dedicated to hot water in holes in the ground. Mash laughs a little, staring down at the vague shape of her body under the water, marveling at how little she can see of it despite how clean and pristine the spring feels.]


Games like this are another thing people came up with to entertain themselves . . . it's interesting. You're right. I guess we come up with anything we can to stimulate ourselves and make bonds with one another. If we didn't find ways to make the world into an experience, we wouldn't really be the same.