Hot Springs and Ryokan

[battymynameis]

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.

Comments

[hackerlad]

Aha, well, I guess I was kind of nodding off for a bit there...

[Like, in honesty...which is actually just a little odd, if he stops to think about it? --Too bad stopping and thinking about it is the one thing he isn't doing right now, despite the fact that he usually does. Mostly since 9S is currently pooling the bulk of his focus into not staring at the little that's visible of Kaname's chest. Can't exactly keep averting his eyes when she's trying to speak directly to him, after all? This would be the one time he's not wearing his visor at a time it'd actually be convenient...but as things stand, not making eye contact would just make things even weirder, wouldn't it...

So he's doing that now! ...Trying to! Maybe his glance does--drop down for like, a second, curiosity overriding even his good modest sense for the slightest of moments--but no! Eyes on her face! Eyes staying on her face! So he can properly listen to what she's saying, and--

--Huh, actually, that's...a question surprising enough to override even his embarrassment just a little. 9S blinks, and then laughs.]

"Actually" feel? I mean, I definitely can! I'd feel really bad for anyone who couldn't--this is really great! Even better than I ever thought it'd be! [Ah, even in these more awkward circumstances it's hard for his excitement to stay entirely subdued; it's slipping back into his smile anyhow, as 9S swirls the water around him a bit with his arms and beams.] You know, I still can't really get my head around some parts of this? Like--can we really just stay in these baths for as long as we want? No time limit or anything?

[pivotpoint]

[...Actually, what's the point of an android if it can do all the things a human can? Is this what they are? Replacements for humans? Or do so many humans die in the future they have to be replaced with androids? There's no point in letting a combat unit taste, feel pain or pleasure, or even have personalities. There's something fishy!

But she doesn't hate it. She actually likes how curious he is. How his face lights up with wonder at all the things she finds normal. She wants to continue to see that smile.

And to alter it. So she reaches out, pinches his cheeks, and tugs them outward.]

Of course, dummy! Who is gonna kick you out for using it what it's meant for?

[She seems to be oblivious to his... plight. Perhaps because she doesn't consider him to be interested. Androids don't have that kind of interest! She says. Knowing jackshit about androids.]

[hackerlad]

[It sure is kind of odd when you actually stop to try and think about it, isn't it? Aesthetic effort this big isn't put into weapons without a reason, surely. It's almost like someone was trying to prove something...

Well, but 9S wouldn't be able to answer any of those questions himself, because he surely doesn't know either. It's just how it is--how they are--and in the end he's glad for it, too? It sets androids apart from machines, for one thing. (Or so he thinks, anyway--) And even besides that--if he couldn't feel and enjoy things, then even an experience like this one would be falling to the wayside about now? --Cheek-pinching included, yes, though--well, he could really go without that sensation, geez--!]

Hey, who are we calling a dummy here...! [Less genuine offense and more of a mild sort of complaining, at least; he makes a face, or at least--tries to, despite all the tugging. Wow!!] Look, I don't know! I guess nobody would around here, when you put it like that...but it's just really weird to think about!

[He reaches up to attempt half-heartedly grappling Kaname's hands off his face with his own. What is this, the fourth time she's messed with his face now?! He's actually almost starting to get used to it--and honestly, he doesn't actually mind it all that much normally? But of all the times for her to do it, this time's--kind of, especially awkward, since this means she's now closer and it's even harder not to look where he shouldn't....

Since maybe androids can have that kind of interest too, yes!!! Surely everybody can have a basic aesthetic appreciation for, other people, sometimes?! And it's not like Kaname isn't pretty--

Yeah, he's leaning back a little as if this is somehow going to help things (it doesn't)--and his face is definitely a fair amount warmer under her hands than it's probably been in the past. But at least this can be blamed on the hot bath too. Anyway, anyway...carrying on the conversation seems like the best way to distract himself, so!]

"Resources are limited, so don't operate beyond your cost"...Command would usually say something like that. [It's recited with a bit of a sigh.] If you're having a bath for maintenance it's recommended to take about fifteen minutes tops, or you're going to hear about it. I always sort of wondered what it'd be like to take as long as I want...I could get a little too used to this, to be honest!

[pivotpoint]

If that's the case... Here, you probably don't get to experience this often either.

[Chidori grabs his shoulders and urges him to turn around. If he lets her she'll start using her thumbs to rub in circles where the curve of his neck meets his shoulders. Underneath it all this boy might just be a pile of circuits, but if he can feel warmth and understand relaxation then a massage might just be something he can enjoy even if he doesn't have the same muscles to knot up like a human.]

[hackerlad]

Huh--?

[It's sudden enough that he wouldn't have much of a chance to form up a protest even if he wanted to. Having no idea what she's got in mind, though, 9S finds himself being turned around by the shoulders without much reason to protest yet, apart from an appropriately confused sort of expression. Getting turned away is sort of--simultaneously a relief and even more alarming, really? On one hand he doesn't have to keep actively averting his eyes from anything now, but on the other hand he hasn't got a clue what Kaname's going to--

Ah, ah, those sure are a pair of thumbs pressing at the base of his neck, and that--sure is a sensation, now isn't it?! In the first moment 9S's entire frame straightens with a jolt as if it's been shocked, with a very surprised and undignified sort of noise to accompany it. Look, it's kind of sensitive there! He's--kind of sensitive everywhere, to be honest, outfitted with pretty fine-tuned sensory inputs like any Scanner worth his salt. Never mind how unheard of physical contact like this is in the first place, for any android...

...But it's not--bad, by any stretch. Certainly not painful. Really kind of the opposite? There aren't actual muscles in there, no, but the metal tensile fibers underneath do form an equivalent enough shape to act about the same--to hold tension, and also find that tension easing, under the encouragement of surprisingly gentle rubbing. After another couple of moments 9S's posture slowly starts to relax again, as he exhales with an almost rueful sort of sigh.]

Uhm, that's--yeah, this is. Definitely a first. Er...w-what are you doing back there? [getting a massage when you've had 0 concept of massages previously: an Experience]

[pivotpoint]

It's a massage. Humans tend to have bad posture or hold stress and tension in their muscles. Doing this is supposed help relieve that tension and disperse it. It feels good for humans, so I thought maybe you'd like it too.

You know, since you imitate us so hard.

[Chidori continues to work him over. Her hands rubbing and rolling over his neck and shoulders. Pushing in toward his spine, dragging out toward his arms. From the base of his skull downward to between his shoulder blades.]

But I guess... that's okay. Even if you couldn't experience things like this before there's this now.

[hackerlad]

[It's probably going to be a long while before he really gets used to it, physical contact to this extent? His breath is still sort of hitching whenever her hands apply a particularly hard knead or press over fibers he rhetorically never realized he even had--and any region near or on his neck seems especially sensitive too, if the low-key flinching every time her fingertips sweep there is anything to go by. ...But even with all this being said, it's all still really...ah.....]

Bad posture--you guys can get that? ...Hadn't figured tension would be a problem for humans either, but I guess it makes sense. --Hah, it does feel pretty nice, to be honest?

[Too nice to entirely deny, that's for sure; gradually, 9S is already beginning to relax more than he tenses up. He's even leaning back into her palms a little now, as opposed to the initial automatic urge to bend away. Hmm--]

"Imitate us so hard", though? Hey, it's not like we're trying, just...we were made this way, you know? [--Not that the idea's ever been a particularly unhappy one, to him. Being made in the human image is kind of an honor--or at least, that's something Command would say. Maybe a little strong, but still...it's not completely wrong, is it? Especially when it opens opportunities for...experiences like this, yeah. A machine wouldn't be able to enjoy something like this, right?

9S is quiet for a few long moments. But eventually, with a soft hum:] You're right, though. Nobody has time for stuff like this back home, but there's--this now, yeah. ...Seriously, thanks for inviting me to all this, Kaname.

[pivotpoint]

[Chidori encourages him to lean against the edge of the pool. She'll work him over until her arms get tired, and then she'll settle next to him. Her arms folding to create a soft surface for her cheek to rest on as she winds down beside him.]

See, since humans are made of organic material it eventually wears away or breaks down, but you can't replace it. You can only correct what you did wrong and hope you heal. A lot of jobs aren't great for posture, and large chests can make your shoulders curl in and cause rib pain. Sometimes being a human... it can be inconvenient. But I'm glad you can join us to enjoy one of the good parts.

[Her voice is soft. The warm water and the tiredness of her arms lulling her into a tired state. Soon she might be dozing off.]