smash_logs | It's like the fun never ends.

It's like the fun never ends.

Who: Errybody
What: HOT SPRINGS: HOTEL EDITION
Where: The hot springs RESORT.
When: March 25th - March 29th
Warnings: Hotel shenanigans.

After a relatively normal bus ride, you find yourself at a secluded mountain resort.

title or description

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A: 25th, evening, buffet and bar. He'd just stepped off Cid's airship, and what does Gordon do? Have a beer at the bar and look over the scheduling brochure, of course. They said it was all-inclusive, and he means to take advantage of that.

...The problem is, there's little here he really wants to do. "Masques, wraps, mud baths... sake baths? They HAVE those? Hm, One beer's enough for me, thanks. Tai Chi? No. Horseback riding? Forget it. Hiking? Rock climbing? Hrmn, okay, now we're talking..."

B: 26th, afternoon, saunas. You know that guy who's in the sauna for an hour, and then comes out and immediately jumps into the coldest swimming pool in the place, and your insides curl up in sympathetic shock as you wonder if they've gone completely barking insane?

Yeah. He's that guy.

C: 27th, morning, various. "...Is it me, or are there a bunch of new people around here?" He mutters, a sudden conspiratorial aside with the person he's speaking with. He'd noticed it late last night. Smash students in uniform that he had never remembered talking to before. And yet they all looked like other students and teachers he HAD seen. Like, brothers and sisters, similar. Was there a bring-your-family clause on the school trip?

"Either a full third of us were a fraternal twin and never knew it, or something strange is going on around here."

Edited 2013-03-26 16:35 (UTC)

Chell wasn't exactly sure if she wanted to try the saunas. But there was something strangely comforting about them. As much as she hated being cooped up inside, it was what she knew. And what one knows is what comforts them, even if it brings up terrible memories. After all, victims often end up returning to their abusers... While Chell wouldn't go that far by a longshot, she found that when she was stressed, she sometimes found herself seeking out indoor places. At other times she ended up attempting to escape whatever enclosure she was in.

But this time, she of course had the option of enjoying the outdoors, and she certainly did to an extent. So when she had the option, it was better. And that's why she decided to try out the saunas.

She figured no one was in there. At least she hoped. All she had on was a blue one-piece swimsuit. It didn't really occur to her that such a thing might be considered "sexy" or "appealing" - it was just a device she used in order to swim. So when she stepped in to see Gordon, she just looked slightly surprised more than anything.

Humans seek comfort in enclosed spaces as an instinct anyway. No one would fault her for following it, least of all the man she meets in there.

Gordon has a pair of range-and-grey shorts clinging to his hips, his glasses folded atop a towel next to him, and he's blinks a moment; mostly because of the nearsighted blurrines but also because he isn't used to the sight of Chell in anything other than a school uniform. He quickly picks them up and wipes the fog off of them to put them on, then gains a smile as he realizes it's her.

He beckons her in, and ladles a bit more water onto the coals with a heady hiss and a blast of steam.

It was incredibly hot in here, but in somewhat of a comfortable manner. While she would have preferred being alone, at least it was Gordon who was in here.

She moved forward, feeling a rush of heat from the blast of steam. She took a seat a couple feet away from the other, and actually managed to form a small smile toward him. Over these past few months, she had gotten to know Gordon a bit better, even if they exchanged few words. But he had proven himself to be a comforting presence.

He leans back on the wooden bench they share. He could go into explaining it, the whole act of cleansing the body through the pores and all that... but he'll save his breath.

In any case he's quite sufficient illustration of the practice--He's already drenched, and his glasses immediately fog to uselessness again. Reluctantly, back onto the towel they go.

Chell didn't really know much about the whole thing, about what the sauna did, but she knew it was comfortable. Strands of her hair curled up with the moisture, and her ponytail gradually felt heavier with time.

At the sight of Gordon's goggles fogging over, Chell gave a slightly larger amused smile. Her body shook slightly in her way of giggling, though it was completely silent.

He gives an animated shrug. It seems he had no choice but to see her through an astygmatic haze, and that was a shame.

She... really is very pretty.

It's a simple observation by his higher brain functions but the rest of his neurons quickly agree. My god, she really is isn't she? Why hadn't we noticed?

Even the lizard brain chimes in, whom no one invited to the meeting but he decided to sit in anyway. Yeah. I'd do her.

The comment is promptly stricken from the record. Meanwhile Gordon himself fidgets with his hair with a nervous chuckle and decides to keep quiet on the whole damn thing.

Maybe there was a small part of Chell's brain that offhandedly remarked that Gordon was somewhat attractive, good-looking for a man of his age, but that's really all the thought she gave to the matter. The fact that Gordon was only wearing a small swimsuit didn't really matter, but he looked strange almost without his glasses.

She picked them up, actually, as they sat beside him, and inspected them. They were fogged over indeed, so when she held them up to her eyes, she couldn't really see anything.

He sits up when she plucks them up, not worried really but more than a little curious what she intends to do with them.

The glasses are thick-rimmed specs of the BC variety, with lenses that are curved and slightly prism-ed, not to mention smudged. Funny she should note his age because he actually looks much younger without them.

Should she try to look through them, she probably wouldn't see more than fuzzy blobs of color.

Well no, Gordon didn't look much older than Chell, especially without the glasses, but she didn't think much of it.

What she was paying attention to was the glasses themselves. Chell, fortunately, had been blessed with good eyesight and never had to wear glasses either as a child or as an adult. So her curiosity simply got the best of her and she inspected them, trying them on briefly. She still couldn't see through them.

Maybe she looked silly, but as she grew more comfortable around Gordon and with this environment, perhaps she let loose a little more, let her curiosity overtake her instead of her need for survival.

He leans on his knees to squint a little closer, breaking into a huge grin when she puts them on. Not because she looked goofy with them on... okay, maybe a little, but also because something about her when she's curious that he just finds delightful to watch.

He'd seen it in class too; brief flickers when she focuses, her defenses fall and this open, honest, voracious need to just figure something out comes to the surface. Honestly he wishes he could see more of it.

At her core, Chell perhaps was a curious individual. Having been away from society for so long, she missed out on so much, and now perhaps was time to learn more about it.

GLaDOS was dead. Chell knew she'd be back, knew she wouldn't stay dead (no matter what anyone else said), but for now she was gone. It was mostly relief that settled over her over time, but perhaps there was a tiny pang of regret. Wheatley was still around the Academy, but Chell saw so little of him. She still kept her defenses up at all times, but slowly she was beginning to realize that her life wasn't in imminent danger. The school had food, shelter, and seemingly nice people.

She couldn't see Gordon's huge grin at the moment, since the glasses were fogged over, but she adjusted them slightly to peer out over the lenses when she saw his face. And her lips curled into a smile in response before she took the glasses off and set them next to her once more. There wasn't much else she could do with them, after all.

It takes a while to shake off the feeling after fighting for your life; he could identify with her on that. There are times when he still can't completely believe this world is safe from the Combine, although the proof was right in front of him. If they knew the world around Final Destination City existed, they would have taken it already. There would be no qualifiers. If they can take Earth in seven hours, they can take this place. And the school? Probably turned into another Nova Prospekt...

The coals hiss as another ladle of water hits them, and he sighs and leans back again.

Whether or not Gordon really knew about Chell's history, she felt at least that if anyone could understand, it would be him. Maybe one day she would divulge the details in writing, or perhaps one day she would even dare to open her mouth and speak (maybe... but she's afraid).

But at least she could enjoy this moment here. For once she felt somewhat at ease, so she mimicked Gordon and leaned back with the increasing heat. So relaxing.

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It's like the fun never ends.

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Saunas

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omg your tag made me laugh

=D

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