I guess what I mean is: if anything seems to contradict what the others have told you about this place, or if you end up in a conversation with someone affiliated with the hotel and they let something slip, let me know! Of course you can feel free to ask general questions too, but those are the things I'm most interested in.
Oh, what's your name? I have a better way of getting in contact in an emergency.
[those two things are connected, even if they seem like nonsequitors.]
[Natori doesn't reply on the watch. Instead, a few minutes later, a simple paper doll finds its way to wherever Oushi is-- flying through the air like it's propelled by its own individual gust of wind, circling around Oushi as if confirming his identity, and then hovering at eye level for him to read what's written on it.
On the front is Natori's extremely neat handwriting, with plenty of space for Oushi to write underneath:]
If you hold this and will it to find me, it will come back to me. You can write on it too.
[...If he flips it around to the back, he can see that this doll appears to have been made from the title page for an erotic novel called As the Hotel Turns: My Adventures in Hot and Sexy Wonderland.]
before too long, natori will find the little paper doll floating its way back to him. just beneath his own handwriting is oushi's scrawl, somehow curt despite it all. ]
Please invest in a proper notepad.
[ that is to say: that was a really neat trick, and one quickly undone by natori's choice of paper. lowkey, oushi is convinced he had done it on purpose. ]
[A fresh doll comes back soon enough! This one looks like an end chapter page of a different book, one equally as erotic but apparently set on a submarine. He's not got a lot of options for pages with at least one blank side of the paper.]
Your test worked! It came back to me as planned!
[because obviously that was why Oushi would immediately send the emergency contact doll back, right?]
Beggars can't be choosers.
[and weirdly enough, shortly after Oushi receives this second doll, he gets a new text from Natori, who clearly can tell when his dolls have arrived.]
Nice to meet you, Oushi-kun! What did you get from the hotel when you arrived here? I received an awful lot of gifts, so I'm happy to offload some.
[and he attaches a photo of a lot of gifts piled in the basement hallways. There are an astonishing number of trashy erotic novels in the pile.]
[ oushi is... far too sentimental to crush the little paper dolls in his hands like instinct would have had him do — those few trashy lines were already embarrassing, and it was hardly even a full paragraph! — so he just winds up... letting them hang around him. do they ever lose their magic and just turn back into paper? for the moment, he's set the last doll on the foot of his bed, keeping half an eye on it just in case it bursts into flames or something. ]
no offense, but i wouldn't trust anything in that pile especially the supposedly edible stuff
i didn't get any gift or note or anything but is it pretty common for people to get something from the hotel when they arrive? if that's the case it might explain... something...
the one normal piece of paper he got and he destroyed it immediately
[The doll seems perfectly content to hang around; it just lies there like any old doll cut out of a romance novel. It'll hold its magic for a very long time-- but it's still a piece of paper, so. It'll need to be replaced if it gets wet or catches on fire or anything (Oushi isn't powerful enough to make it burst spontaneously into flames, but it has happened to the protag-tier powerful).]
I was suspicious too, but someone who has been here much longer than I have didn't seem concerned. The sweets are already gone, though.
Yes, it seems as though almost everyone gets something-- but it's not always a tangible item. Sometimes it sounds more like a curse.
[ ngl the doll is cute and oushi is content to let it hang around for as long as it likes (no he's not lonely or anything, shut up). no risk of getting wet or bursting into flames though — oushi is as mundane and powerless as they come. ]
yeah, okay then i got one of those a curse or something
[ it doesn't hurt and it isn't awful but it is EMBARRASSING AND ANNOYING AS FUCK so he's gonna grumble about it anyway. ]
[It's very obvious that Oushi did not specify the nature of the curse, which is presumably for a reason. Ultimately Natori only cares about it for one reason:]
I'm going to assume it's not the sort of curse that an exorcist could take care of? I received multiple copies of The Time I, An Introverted Receptionist At A Luxury Hotel, Saw My Movie Star Guest Changing?! if you want that one.
If it happens when you're impolite, I've actually spoken to someone today who had the same experience.
[Though he suspects it's a little more targeted than that; that doesn't seem like it'd be Oushi's problem.]
Not especially. This is to be expected. What you should know about ayakashi is that they feed off of vulnerabilities in the human heart. It's unsurprising that a place like this would try to unsettle us by using tools like that.
[Which he means as a gentle warning to Oushi more than anything else: expect something similar, so you're not caught off guard when it happens to you.]
Besides, I think a lot of this is just because the receptionists are fans of mine.
Haha, I wouldn't beat yourself up for that. I've been doing this for a long time, and it's still tough to fight your instinctive reaction to things, especially when they're designed to get a rise out of you.
[Did he come here literally less than 24 hours after an illusion ayakashi tricked him into playing house with her based on a childhood memory she plucked out of his head? Yes. Is he going to take that fact to his grave? He'll certainly try.]
Hang on, don't ask the question yet. I want to test something.
[and what he tests is what happens if they just don't say anything-- and after a few minutes of surprising silence from Chirpy, he comes back.]
Interesting. I think so long as neither of us pose the question or pick an option, we might be able to end this? Unless the bird is annoyed at you?
[specifically because Chirpy is still yelling at him for ghosting someone who asked truth or dare, even after several back-and-forths-- maybe so long as they don't leave a question hanging, they can slip out of here?]
[ thus, it is hereby dubbed kami. oushi thinks he's funny.
he scoops kami up, only to resettle the little thing on the table just beside his bed. that way, he can stretch his legs out without fear of crushing the thing. ]
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Oh, what's your name? I have a better way of getting in contact in an emergency.
[those two things are connected, even if they seem like nonsequitors.]
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it's oushi
you have a way to communicate outside of these watches?
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On the front is Natori's extremely neat handwriting, with plenty of space for Oushi to write underneath:]
If you hold this and will it to find me, it will come back to me. You can write on it too.
[...If he flips it around to the back, he can see that this doll appears to have been made from the title page for an erotic novel called As the Hotel Turns: My Adventures in Hot and Sexy Wonderland.]
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before too long, natori will find the little paper doll floating its way back to him. just beneath his own handwriting is oushi's scrawl, somehow curt despite it all. ]
Please invest in a proper notepad.
[ that is to say: that was a really neat trick, and one quickly undone by natori's choice of paper. lowkey, oushi is convinced he had done it on purpose. ]
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Your test worked! It came back to me as planned!
[because obviously that was why Oushi would immediately send the emergency contact doll back, right?]
Beggars can't be choosers.
[and weirdly enough, shortly after Oushi receives this second doll, he gets a new text from Natori, who clearly can tell when his dolls have arrived.]
Nice to meet you, Oushi-kun! What did you get from the hotel when you arrived here? I received an awful lot of gifts, so I'm happy to offload some.
[and he attaches a photo of a lot of gifts piled in the basement hallways. There are an astonishing number of trashy erotic novels in the pile.]
HELP THAT NOTE I'M CRYING
no offense, but i wouldn't trust anything in that pile
especially the supposedly edible stuff
i didn't get any gift or note or anything but
is it pretty common for people to get something from the hotel when they arrive?
if that's the case it might explain... something...
the one normal piece of paper he got and he destroyed it immediately
I was suspicious too, but someone who has been here much longer than I have didn't seem concerned. The sweets are already gone, though.
Yes, it seems as though almost everyone gets something-- but it's not always a tangible item. Sometimes it sounds more like a curse.
so valid of him tbh
yeah, okay
then i got one of those
a curse or something
[ it doesn't hurt and it isn't awful but it is EMBARRASSING AND ANNOYING AS FUCK so he's gonna grumble about it anyway. ]
tbh i'd rather have the porn
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I'm going to assume it's not the sort of curse that an exorcist could take care of? I received multiple copies of The Time I, An Introverted Receptionist At A Luxury Hotel, Saw My Movie Star Guest Changing?! if you want that one.
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no offense
it's not terrible or anything
just embarrassing, i guess...
i'll pass, though
just because i'd rather have the porn than the rash [ oops ] doesn't mean i'll take one anyone
aren't you kinda creeped out these books seem to be about you?
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[Though he suspects it's a little more targeted than that; that doesn't seem like it'd be Oushi's problem.]
Not especially. This is to be expected. What you should know about ayakashi is that they feed off of vulnerabilities in the human heart. It's unsurprising that a place like this would try to unsettle us by using tools like that.
[Which he means as a gentle warning to Oushi more than anything else: expect something similar, so you're not caught off guard when it happens to you.]
Besides, I think a lot of this is just because the receptionists are fans of mine.
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[ hmm. ]
i think it happens when i see... certain people...
which i guess goes in line with what you're saying about ayakashi
[ 😮💨 ]
wish i didn't make it so easy for them
though it definitely makes sense why you just got items and not a curse
you're not exactly easy prey
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[Did he come here literally less than 24 hours after an illusion ayakashi tricked him into playing house with her based on a childhood memory she plucked out of his head? Yes. Is he going to take that fact to his grave? He'll certainly try.]
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[ he's generally just Awful at battling his emotions, but that's neither here nor there...... ]
i lost track of the game
is it my turn or yours?
[ are they still even playing............ chirpy has been awfully quiet. ]
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[and what he tests is what happens if they just don't say anything-- and after a few minutes of surprising silence from Chirpy, he comes back.]
Interesting. I think so long as neither of us pose the question or pick an option, we might be able to end this? Unless the bird is annoyed at you?
[specifically because Chirpy is still yelling at him for ghosting someone who asked truth or dare, even after several back-and-forths-- maybe so long as they don't leave a question hanging, they can slip out of here?]
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guess that means we're free then
[ he glances at the little doll on his bed, which seems to notice his attention and lifts its little head back up at him. ]
before you go
what do you call these paper things you sent over?
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[ thus, it is hereby dubbed kami. oushi thinks he's funny.
he scoops kami up, only to resettle the little thing on the table just beside his bed. that way, he can stretch his legs out without fear of crushing the thing. ]
good luck with the rest of your games
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You too!
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