smash_logs | I miss video games

Who: Errybody
What: HOT SPRINGS: HOT SPRINGS EDITION
Where: Hot springs. Different hot springs. Not the hot springs that turned everyone into six year olds.
When: March 25th - March 29th
Warnings: Cursed springs. Sex swapping.

Right outside the resort is the main attraction, a collection of natural hot springs, separated by gender with a co-ed spring in the middle. Despite it being late March, there's still a dusting of snow on the ground, making the warm springs all the more inviting.

If the main resort area is too crowded for you, there are whispers of a secluded, private spring down a secret path. It's supposed to be very nice--if you can find it.

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[He was pleased when she settled into the water, though not surprised. He was glad for her company, but true to his spoiled nature, he'd taken it for granted that it'd happen because he'd said so, not because he was lucky enough to be in the company of a thoroughly thoughtful individual.

He hesitated for a second before answering Voile; he didn't know the right answer to her question, really -- the historical records he'd long since saved to his memory made no mention of whether the real X had ever done anything like this, so it'd normally fall on him to conjure up a response that was still satisfying without actually being a yes or a no. As to whether he'd been to a hot spring before, though...]

No, I guess I haven't. Things like these are sort of wasted on machines, though. Is this your first time too?

[She nodded, not at all feeling the need to hide whatever it was she had going on up in her head. But then, as time proceeded, she was feeling better. If something happened, she had someone she could run off to, someone who would treat her like the kin that she was. And that really did make her see things in an entirely different light.]

Yes! I think it's fun. [She reached over and prodded him gently in the shoulder, though the emotion was tentative because... well. Skin and skin contact. That wasn't particularly something she was used to.] Who knows when we'll get to do something like this again? It's best if we can take advantage of the these kinds of opportunities.

Even if you feel like they're of no use to you.

[Contact wasn't something Copy X was all that used to either; most people had the good sense to avoid looking Neo Arcadia's draconian ruler in the eye, let alone being so impudent as to touch him. For a moment, his self-consciousness about his imperfect skin sunk in again, and it took a willful effort not to shirk away. He remained poised and in-character, but one hand did rise up to the shoulder she'd touched shyly.]

Well, it's not like it does much more for me than set off a few temperature sensors. ...That's a good way to see it though, I suppose. May as well make the most of a chance to relax while we're lucky to have it.

[A modest little hint of a smile. Back to being X-like.]

Maybe I'll have a little more fun with it if I forget about sensors and look at it your way.

[Most of what he said was a foreign language to her. It didn't stop her from listening intently. If anything, even when she wasn't 'in the know,' she certainly didn't mind hearing a friendly noise.]

There we go. That's what this trip is all about. A little relaxation.

[Her smile grew and Voile was so transparent that she knew very well she was easy to read. At least she was for Copy X at that moment. She had no reason to hide anything from him. At least, not that she knew of. He was good until he proved himself otherwise, and even then, she was a compassionate creature. To a fault.]

So while we're relaxing, why not tell me about things you do in your free time? The things you enjoy, I mean.

[Another tricky question. He could tell Voile was making an effort to get to know him as a person, but it was hard to respond when there wasn't much person there to begin with. The tasks assigned to him before he'd ever come to this school had been far too important to allow much time for slacking. Even if they had, though, he had no idea what sorts of things X did in his off hours: how was he supposed to know what he liked doing if he didn't know what X liked doing? Maybe he could have bluffed a convincing answer back home, but with the real X running around here, he couldn't let inconsistencies stack up.

...It was sort of annoying, he couldn't help thinking, that he had to jump through these kinds of hoops when Voile could be so obviously earnest and open with him.]

I'd rather get to know what kind of things you like, Voile. I feel like I know so little about you.

[Did he know so little? Voile had to take all of that in as she found herself relaxing finally. What was there to really say about herself? It was true that she was not fond of discussing things she was into, or had been into. And her position at the academy was merely that of a student. She didn't live a real exciting or thrilling life. It was difficult to think of any reason that she should have been keen on sharing information about herself.]

That's... rather open-ended.

[But she smiled and decided to play along, at least for the time being.] Did you want to know something in particular, X? Asking me to talk about myself is a very broad request, which I don't mind, but if we narrow down the fields, it might make it a little easier for me to find a place to begin.

That's fair, I suppose. Let's see...

[With the question successfully dodged, he could relax a little. What to ask...? Truth be told, Copy X was hardly the sort of person who spent a lot of time focusing on other people. He was genuinely curious about her, but he wasn't too sure where to begin. There was a childlike interest in what she was, of course -- what the extent of her abilities was, what she looked like without the humanization, things like that -- but there was also a vague curiosity about who she was. He could count on one hand the people who'd been openly kind to him without putting him in X's shadow or carrying some sort of ulterior motive. Though the naive part of him wanted to hope she was one of them, the cynic mostly just hoped to suss out what her motive happened to be.

Nothing to be gained by being blatantly suspicious, though. He cast around for a question that was neutral, but not boring.]

Well... if you could be absolutely anything you wanted to, then what would you be?

["What do you want to be when you grow up," admittedly, was a bit of a childish thing to toss out there, but didn't the things a person hoped for say a lot about them?]

[In hindsight she should have realised what a complex invitation that was. He hadn't really deserved it, she supposed. Making him work for his information, she guessed. But she hadn't wanted him to take it in such a way. And while she could cover her own bases, she had to remind herself that interpretation was a two-way street. Like most things. And Copy was always free to perceive as he wanted to.

So far, he'd only perceived kind things of her. Or so she assumed, for he'd never said anything to state otherwise.]

Absolutely anything I wanted to be? [A good question. A hard question. What did she really want to be?] Uhm...

Fully human. For one day, at least. To not have all of the abilities I do have. Just to be a normal... human... girl. It is the only selfish answer I have to that question. If I were to answer any other way, my answer would always be for the benefit of other people.

[And that was worthy of the wry smile she gave.]

I miss video games

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