open mingle: the hot springs episode

[izanagis]

Who: everyone!
Where: the hot springs by Astralin's farm
What: food, fun, and absolutely no funny business, i'm sure
Warnings: i'm sure some form of stupid and/or unhinged will present itself, but until then--! nothing!

The onsen

A Japanese-inspired hot springs located near the farm where Chosen are encouraged to relax and soak. There's an indoor area to relax, as well as changing rooms that, for Chosen who have been there in the past, seem to have been recently upgraded, removing cracks between the doors and increasing privacy. Hmm...

[On the morning of October 4th, a quick message goes out over the network:]

Onsen cookout tomorrow (10/5) from noon through evening, hosted by the cooking club.
Bring a dish, drink, or game, if you want.

[Okay, so it's a simple message, but he's a silent protag, so what else do you expect? It lists a location, at least.

Anyway. The rules of the hot springs have changed remarkably little in the almost-year that they've been here, though there are no longer attendants there to enforce said rules—right now, very few locals seem willing to work with, or particularly for, the Chosen. So it's on the honor system. Follow the rules! For honor!

1. Best behavior.
2. The springs are co-ed, so soak at your own discretion.
3. Food is provided, alcohol is BYO.
4. No sex in the hot springs!

Simple.

It's not like the hot springs have gone unused for any period of time, but the springs and dressing rooms have been newly cleaned, restocked with fresh towels and even some snacks.

As the day turns to evening, lanterns light up the area, but the hot springs don't actually have a closing time, so there's no official end time on this gathering. It's temptingly relaxing, but don't fall asleep in the water!]

Food & Activities

The cooking club was organized by Kotone Shiomi, and is frequented by plenty of the Chosen who want to learn how to cook, improve their skills, or...want to help out by, you know. Tasting. It regularly meets in the club building in town, and sometimes club members can be coerced into providing food for events and gatherings.

[Yu has enlisted the help of the Cooking Club to do some kind of potluck-slash-cookout. People are welcome to bring their own dishes (and others are encourage to taste-test and provide feedback—this is for a club, after all!), but there's also a flat-top grill that will be manned throughout the afternoon and evening by different members of the club—or by volunteers, if you'd like.

Just…just don't give anyone food poisoning, okay?

Aside from food, there will be some other activities: decks of playing cards and other games, for some reason a cornhole game, sparklers, and other small activities. Feel free to bring your own, or hole up in the corner with a book or something, we don't control you.

Also, you may occasionally find any number of cats hanging around, as well. They look expectant, like they're waiting for food or a treat or something. Almost as if someone has been feeding them regularly.]

code

Comments

junpei | ota

[coolerjunpei]

I. guy who doesn't go to parties

[A cookout—sounds very cool on paper, except that a cookout is basically a party and Junpei is historically quite bad at parties. And yet here he is, possibly (definitely) convinced to come by Charles, who shows up with him, and he's holding (clutching) a board game, which upon closer look is some kind of Aldrip version of Settlers of Catan. He does not know how to play it, but the post said bring a game, and...

He's trying. He's glued to Charles for an indeterminate length of time before he finally boldly approaches the activities table to contribute his Aldrip-Catan. He places it down and immediately turns to find a snack or something so he isn't just standing there awkwardly. So the cookout is going great.

If somebody else is lingering nearby, or even approaches, he will just Say Out Loud,] Last time I went to one of these things, somebody lost two teeth and broke another guy's foot.

[neither of these people were him, he swears.]

II. hunger games

[Junpei's greatest culinary strength is making a sandwich, but now that the locals seem to deeply resent their patronage, that has to... change. Is he going to join this club? Remains to be seen. In the meantime he is going to stand around and watch the actual cooking happening, and it becomes obvious that he's watching and not just waiting for food pretty quickly.

Surely this is how to learn. Eventually, to either the current chef or anyone, really, he's Sandwich Guy, even odds everyone here can cook something better than him,]

Uh, [uhhhh] What's the fastest thing you know how to cook?

III. misc

[the wildcard....... actually play a game? get swarmed by cats with him? anything goes.]

ii

[garbagecanned]

[Yosuke isn't good at cooking either.

there's a long moment as he watches the others cook... and he looks over at Junpei and shrugs.]

Microwavable ramen.

[#nailed it]

You?

[coolerjunpei]

[Cool, they're already doing great. Junpei hums, a little grim.]

Same, honestly...

[He shrugs. It is dire out here for the guys who can't cook.]

Now that everybody in town hates us, though... I was thinking I'd better learn to cook, you know, real food.

[garbagecanned]

[well. at least Yosuke has a boyfriend that knows how to cook.]

Yeah, but they're still selling stuff to us, right? Does it really matter if we don't know how to cook?

[he works customer service. he's so used to grumpy people lmfao.]

[coolerjunpei]

[Literally same, but Junpei's likes to make faces at him about his pitiful self-care habits, soooo--]

I'm just trying to minimize my time with the locals, I guess... And it's not a bad idea for a hobby, right?

[Shrug!]

Besides, they might cut us off completely eventually.

[garbagecanned]

[Yu enables it, kinda. he judges in a friendly way, but continues to make food. so. there's that.]

I guess. If you're trying to find a new hobby, anyway...

[he thinks about it for a minute.]

They kinda need us. Their businesses would tank if they shut us all out, wouldn't they?

[coolerjunpei]

I don't know about that. We're not exactly the majority here.

[But, like, whatever. He shakes his head, as if to put that topic back on the shelf. This is like a party or whatever, right? So no bummers.]

Never mind. I'm sick of what-if-ing this place. What hobbies have you got, anything good?

[garbagecanned]

[this is so true. this summer has been kind of shit, after all.

...

uh.]

I'm into music. The stuff here isn't as good as back home, but...

[he shrugs.]

It's still something, at least.

[coolerjunpei]

Just listening to it, or...?

[He gives Yosuke a brief glance up and down, as if trying to determine if he gives off the "guy in a band" vibe. It's unclear.

Hmm,] Do you know where I could get a record player? Any recs?

[let him have this]

the secret third option

[incorrigibles]

[ truthfully, charles hadn't been entirely sure junpei would agree to come — it wasn't really his kind of a thing, was it, a big open gathering like this, and so charles had pulled out the pleading eyes and the but i want you there with me and the result? a resounding success.

now, after arriving, the traditional thing to do would be to go around and greet people and all... but charles, hm, now that he's actually faced with the option of talking to other people, he finds he'd much rather just stay with junpei. others can wait. they've only just got here, surely no one's going to mind if they just... take some time to themselves.

so he gives junpei's hand a squeeze and starts to pull him along. ]

C'mon, let's take a look around, yeah? I've never been here before. The whole 'onsen' thing, that's Japanese, innit?

[ the lanterns aren't yet lit up, and charles thinks they'll look nice later on and makes a note to walk around then, too... but there's a nice winding path around the actual hot springs, affording them not just a pretty view of the area but also some privacy, an excuse not to go around and mingle — so that's where he directs them. ]

springs date dlc

[coolerjunpei]

[Fascinating, isn't it, the way Charles gives Junpei a look with his big pretty eyes and Junpei all but blacks out and suddenly finds himself at parties with board games. Probably something to reflect on there, but some other time when there aren't so many people around. He's here, at least, and he's definitely thinking about mingling as intended, but...

Well, when Charles has other ideas, Junpei follows after him with bells on. A distraction? Great! The distraction is Charles, leading them somewhere private? Even better!]

Yeah, somebody had to have set it up like this on purpose. [Did the AI...? Did one of the Chosen design this place? He's not intrigued enough to find out, ah well—] Where are we going?

[To "look" "around," is it... ahem.]

[incorrigibles]

Elsewhere, [ comes his answer — he grins at junpei with his eyes sparkling, and yeah, it's definitely to "look" "around". he has, hm, zero interest in either looking or in their surroundings, really, or at least not aside from making sure they're no longer standing in the middle of the indoor area where all the people are.

the path winds around where the door to the dressing rooms is, then turns around the wooden wall of the onsen — and that is where charles stops and turns, tugging junpei to him, his free hand landing on his waist. ]

Sorry, [ he says, not sounding sorry at all, ] But I think you need to tell me all about the hot springs and their cultural significance.

[ he leans in, slowly, stopping until their faces are mere inches apart. ] In detail.

[coolerjunpei]

[Junpei hums, raising his eyebrows - elsewhere, he likes the sound of that, and has nearly forgotten about everyone else here entirely by the time they pass the dressing rooms. Dimly he wonders, when they get there, if people actually in the springs right now can hear them past the wall, but also: he doesn't care. Charles pulls and Junpei follows once again, shuffling closer and sliding a hand up to the back of Charles' neck.]

Well, you know, there's health benefits and stuff, [he says with a wave of his other hand.] 'Cause of the minerals.

[These are details, so he's staying in the bit. He tips his head up to press a quick kiss to the corner of Charles' mouth, grinning.]

It might take a while to get through all of it.

[incorrigibles]

[ the thought of other people possibly hearing them does cross his mind, and then promptly leaves it — if someone does hear them and minds it, well, then whoever it is can just go somewhere else. surely there's more baths than the one right behind the wall. and really, he wouldn't have been uncomfortable with dragging junpei to a corner in the main room inside, either — in fact he may very well resort to that later — but he can't deny that it's nice, it being just the two of them. it's all too easy to forget there's any others around at all, especially with junpei tilting his head, with the press of his lips, even if the aim isn't quite how he'd like it.

which is obviously deliberate, and charles raises his brows with a matching grin. ]

Health benefits, huh? [ he lets his other hand migrate to junpei's waist, too, then sliding both of them to the small of his back, pulling him closer. ]

C'mon, tell me more. Take as long as you need, [ he says, voice low, tilting his head to press a kiss to right below junpei's ear, then another to his jawline, then another closer to the corner of his mouth. ] I've got time.

[coolerjunpei]

Health benefits, [he repeats with a chuckle, sliding his hand up to curl into Charles' hair.] Something like soothing heart rate, or whatever. Usually.

[Usually, because it takes extremely little on Charles' part for Junpei's heart to start doing all kinds of acrobatics, particularly now. Is it the bit? Does committing to the bit actually kind of do it for him? That's something he'll leave to unpack later.

But he is trying to think of some more onsen facts (tm) while his focus is soundly split between that and everything else happening, so, maybe. Maybe it is the bit.]

You're, uh, supposed to wash off before you get in the water, [Isn't that interesting, wow— He gives the back of Charles' head a little nudge to hold still so Junpei can kiss him properly. And again, while he wiggles his other hand under Charles' outermost layers of jacket (always stylish, presently a little annoying for some reason, go figure) to get to his waist.

Onsen facts, onsen facts... He earnestly tries to think of another when he pulls back, for like, a good ten seconds? Then he just scoffs and leans back in for another kiss; the bit is paused, for now.]

[incorrigibles]

Usually, [ charles says with an amused edge to his tone, even as he's otherwise focusing on distracting junpei from coming up with more facts — that's the challenge here! one that he rises to rather nicely with one more fact. his own challenge is not thinking too much about the hand in his hair, though he can't quite help tilting his head into the touch just a bit. ]

Yeah? That sounds — [ sensible, he is about to say, but the word is swallowed up by the kiss, and then he sort of forgets he was going to say anything at all. instead, he leans into it, kissing junpei back gently, making a pleased hum into the second kiss as he feels the hand on his waist.

and then there's no more facts, which is just as well; he may not have a heart that could do some acrobatics in his chest, but he feels molten, and the ten seconds seem to stretch on into infinity. and when junpei leans to kiss him again, charles tightens his hold on him and kisses back like he means it — a little bit deeper, a little bit more intent. ]

[coolerjunpei]

[Sensible would be a big heaping dollop of irony for them both, sneaking away to do this in the still very public place that they're in, so maybe it's lucky that Charles doesn't get a chance to say it. Junpei would have to stop and laugh, and someone would definitely hear that, and the longer no one hears them (or at least, not enough to investigate) the longer they can keep going.

So whatever, forget facts. Junpei nearly has, even more when the kiss starts to heat up. He presses closer, gripping Charles' hair and the back of his shirt, and when he has to pause to take a breath he mumbles something affectionate and honestly incomprehensible against Charles' lips. It doesn't really matter; the warmth is there, even if the actual words aren't.

Then another kiss becomes two, three, each more heated and lingering than the last. He's never done this before, make out at a party, and he can't deny it makes him a little giddy on top of how Charles already makes him feel on top of the world.]

Hey, [he says when he has to, you know, breathe again; quiet, just for Charles,] What's your game plan, anyway? You wanted me to come here, and we're not even at the party.

[And he's pretty amused by this, actually; Charles simply cannot resist his raw charisma, huh. And he'll accept literally any answer, tracing a fingertip in a loopy nonsense shape on Charles' back and tilting his head to kiss his cheek, his jawline, lower. This is his version of the "give me hot springs facts" bit, sooo please tell him all the fun things to do at a party besides this.]

i; lmk if this is okay!

[laserguy]

[......That dude sure is hanging out with Charles a lot.

At first, Scott doesn't think too much about it because whatever, Charles is a good guy with plenty of friends. So what?? However, every so often, when he just glances in their direction or see them nearby, he can't help but notice the dopey looks that the two give each other and oh shit. That's the dude. It's him, like, 100% definitely him.

The guy that Charles referred to when they talked before. The one he probably made a promise to before leaving the group to go back home.

It was Junpei all along.

...Uh, that's his name, right? Scott sort of recalls talking to him over the Okcindr thing. Yeah, they discussed bad movies and whatnot. It's not important right now, because he has to be a nosy piece of shit. So it's definitely no coincidence when the mutant walks up to him and-- wow. Who says that out loud??]

So, you're saying 'I definitely lost two teeth and broke another guy's foot.' [Scott dryly remarks, but he looks like he's having a good time for one reason or another.]

always ok!!

[coolerjunpei]

[What do you mean this isn't a normal thing to just say out loud? This is mild compared to how his friends back home make conversation, he thinks he's doing quite well—]

Come on, ye of little faith. I was busy sticking a whole sheet of temporary tattoos on my arm. [A beat.] We were thirteen.

[And not, like, the kind of thirteen where you think you're cool because you're finally a teenager, although that is perhaps obvious from his tone.

Anyway, this guy is... the guy who talked about robots with him once... Scott, that's the name, right.]

You've never been to a wild party? Middle school birthday games not required.

[laserguy]

Dude, just take credit that you broke another guy's foot. That's way more impressive.

[He snorts, eyes rolling behind his shades. Wow, so this really is the guy Charles likes, huh? But heh, whatever, long as his friend is happy and shit, not that he'd say it out loud. Way too mushy.

Nonetheless, it's clear that Scott's mostly just ribbing him, his tone never taking on too much of a malicious tone.]

Long as you count a lot of underage drinking as a wild party, then yeah.

[Really though, he was never invited to parties back home. He's just had the one here, but that's definitely way too embarrassing to admit, especially to a dude he just met in person for the first time. Gotta appear somewhat cool and capable, right?]

[coolerjunpei]

Breaking a guy's foot...? I dunno. Maybe if it was in a cool chase scene, or something. Like, you know—

[He pauses just for a second, as if deliberating, but no he's definitely doing this: he sort of leans back a bit, arms held out, in an imitation of the Bullet Dodging Matrix Pose but not nearly as low. Basically if it was an actual action movie that somebody's foot broke in--

So, yes, this is the guy Charles has chosen. He only does the pose for a couple seconds before he straightens back up properly again, clearing his throat. Anyway, underage drinking, right...]

Underage drinking probably counts. [If you're Junpei and did not actually drink underage, it counts even more, but he can share only so many boring facts about his teen years,] Only if there were at least four people, though. Party rule is four people minimum.

[this is a bit. OR IS IT yeah it is.]

[laserguy]

[Scott watches Junpei with curiosity, but unfortunately, with no look of recognition as he leans back with his arms spread out. Uh-huh, well, guess if he squints and tilts his head, he can see that he's doing some sort of dodging pose?? It gets Scott to laugh at least, the sound lighthearted. Okay fine, he's seeing the charm.]

Uh, only triple that amount of people. [Yeah Scott's totally cool, definitely--] It was around this time actually that I had that party, but this hot springs is an acceptable alternative. I guess.

[No really Scott's having a good time and this year he just wanted to spend his birthday with one person. This small celebration-- relaxation get together is better for hanging out with friends and stuff, especially after the reset.]

[coolerjunpei]

[Thanks, now he's encouraged to do more goofy things in the future. Lesson learned successfully. He hums, eyebrows raised, like "triple that" really is super impressive--]

I don't think I even know twelve people I'd invite to a party. Maybe, like, nine? Eight?

[Possibly less! It's not important. Junpei shrugs and considers The Springs Party, which isn't exactly hopping, but he doesn't really want it to be; this relaxed little gathering is nice. He has not felt the urge to just go the fuck home, so - nice!]

It's okay. I mean, it's better than... [he gestures; the glitches? the reset? insert tragedy here,] Even if nobody plays the board game I brought. Won't even be offended.

[laserguy]

[Yeah, definitely better than the past couple of months. He agrees wholeheartedly, his smile turning smaller but more sincere as he fully understands what Junpei is getting at.]

Hey, maybe they'll be a hit later.

[Who doesn't want to ruin friendships over a game of Monopoly?

But moving onto the thing that Scott's been meaning to bother him about... there's no smooth way to enter this new topic, but that's okay, because he's fine with being blunt and straightforward. It's worked for him in the past. If it ain't broke--]

So, you and Charles close? [If he's being nosy about this kind of thing... it's 100% Kotone's fault.]

[coolerjunpei]

When everybody's sopping wet? Goodbye, game piece integrity...

[Any good board game can be judged by how many times someone flips the board into the springs, obviously. And, oh, so that's the real topic here— Junpei makes a face briefly, eyebrows raised and a little wry, a little amused - but he's not looking at Scott when he does it, so it's not unlike he's mugging for an invisible camera...

It's not as embarrassing as the Matrix posing, so it's fine. Now, Junpei does not know the full extent to which anyone else in town might know something about him through Charles, but he does know that he and Charles showed up to this cookout and then immediately disappeared Suspiciously for, like, twenty minutes, so he kiiiind of assumes this is a roundabout way of announcing they were noticed. Oops.]

Me and Charles? I hope so. [ha ha, his little joke, but the wry look has softened completely; he cannot honestly help it, even thinking about Charles gives him a minor case of the heart eyes.] Uh, we're dating, so... yeah.