✨ INBOX: hotel caelum

[icyspicy]

𝖜𝖎𝖓𝖙𝖊𝖗 🐙✨

summer

---

ABOUT ME

Hello! This is very delightful, though I have no idea what I'm doing!

NOTE

Confused by the username? Good.

Message @summer

code | art

BIRTHDAY DIRECTORY QR CODE

NAME: Winter BIRTHDAY: December 21st FAV CAKE FLAVOR: Black Forest WHAT THEY WANT MOST FOR THEIR BIRTHDAY: To have a good time.

Comments

after all the spa day status effects are gone!

[astarion]

[Astarion's gotten good at this messaging thing! He even finds the user with the display name "Winter" (but the registered name "summer"?? Sir???) and manages to start a direct message between them!]



[Ah, oops, he didn't mean to click that. Maybe he's not as much of a savant as he thinks, but he bets Gale hasn't figured out how to do this much yet! Probably!

Anyway:]

hello darling
are you busy.?

[icyspicy]

[ Don't you judge his username, Astarion Astarion. But what a delightful little waving creature! ]

Hello dear
I suppose I could make somes time, just for ypu

[ Flirting on this stupid device is so hard!!! ]

[astarion]

[One of his "Astarions" has an emoji. It's different enough!

Gods above, it's just comedy when a ye olde is trying to flirt through text. It's fine. Astarion's no better.]

oh good
you see, i might requireea favor from you
i need a distraction

someone big AND distractig, and i think youu fit th e bill

action;

[venomnom]

[Is Winter the sort to keep time? Reiju is, if only because it's professional to show up as agreed to an appointment. At exactly seven o'clock, she shows up before the eatery he decided on, which already looks . . . odd from a glance. It's not necessarily a bad thing, though.

First things first: meeting up with the man of the hour. Once she spots him, she'll close the gap with a practiced smile.]

[icyspicy]

[ This is definitely the vibe here. There is steam? Smoke? Something coming from several tables as their crazy dishes are being served.

Winter is easy enough to spot, and Reiju moreso. He waves to her as she makes her approach. ]

Hello Miss Reiju. Or do you prefer Poison Pink?

[venomnom]

[It's like a workshop. Whatever is served here is definitely novel.]

Reiju is fine.

[Lady, miss—even "you" would work. It makes no difference to her.

But what a duo they make between his blacks and her usual whites. She nods back in greeting.]

Shall we head inside?

spa day....imminent nsfw

[unliminal]

[ His place, then.

Though he's reluctant to pull away — now for reasons well beyond the after-effects of the spa treatment — it will be worth it, to pursue this further, to see where this goes. It's quite convenient that Winter is attractive and bold and alluring, because Gojo is swiftly realizing just how much he's needed something like this. ]

Hold on, then.

[ He could most likely just teleport the pair of them directly in to Winter's room, but that would be a little impolite, and he won't deny Winter the privilege of tugging, tumbling, or carrying him over the threshold. With a glint in his astral eyes, pupils now wide and dark, he clasps his hands behind Winter's neck, and with no further warning, teleports the pair of them just outside his door on the space floor.

He's also cheating a bit with his powers to keep them both standing firmly on the ground. This isn't the time for a cute zero-grav dance!! ]

how did we get here

[icyspicy]

[ For a mercy, Winter is used to teleporting around, though it's usually him doing the teleporting so he's a little surprised when the suddenly wink out of existence and appear in the sea of stars that is the hall outside his room. Gojo's really leveraging his abilities here, isn't he? Moving them around, keeping their feet on the ground.

He grins, instantly leaning in to claim Gojo's lips again, just as eager as he was a moment ago, perhaps more so now that privacy is well within reach, and maneuvers Gojo's back against the door. Both of his hands make themselves busy hiking up the edge of Gojo's shirt to get at the skin beneath, and yet, strangely, something slips the keycard into the door and works the knob, letting the door swing open so they can both go stumbling inside. ]

[unliminal]

[ Even preoccupied as he is by the heat of Winter's hands and mouth, the fact that something emerges to unlock the door isn't lost on him, even if his Six Eyes don't quite recognize the form or shape of it. A kind of magic he hasn't seen Winter use yet, presumably, and a thrilling revelation to have while stumbling into someone's room. Given how their encounters have gone so far, Gojo holds no misconceptions that this will be at all normal. He doesn't always flex his powers in bed the first time he sleeps with someone, but Winter is a bit of a special case.

And he's in a bit of a special mood.

Once they're past the threshold, with a flick of his wrist over Winter's shoulder, the door is swinging shut once more, before his hand sinks deep into Winter's thick, dark hair once more, slipping his tongue past his lips to taste the back of his teeth. This is Winter's room, so he can be polite and allow him to take the lead — for now — though his free hand does snag into the front of Winter's shirt to untuck it from his trousers to better allow him to palm over his abdomen.

It hadn't escaped his notice before how nice of a body Winter has, too. Likewise, Winter will find only lean, honed muscle beneath Gojo's shirt, and perhaps a surprising lack of scars, though there is one — a terribly gruesome one that extends all the way from the corner of his hip up to his collar. ]

shields sumina's innocent eyes... also action, after the espresso post

[airdnd]

[ knock knock, is Winter home? there's a peachy pink lady floating outside of his door. ]

DON'T LOOK SUMINA

[icyspicy]

[ The door opens! Thanks to Winter's mage hand. Come on in. Winter himself is not too far into the room, lounging on a couch. ]

I had a feeling I was about to become quite popular.

a note; sometime after shadows.

[airdnd]

[ A few days after everyone's shadows return to their usual non-sentience, Winter will find an envelope delivered to his room with familiar handwriting saying "For Winter" on the back, and an equally-familiar wax seal upon its front.

The letter enclosed within reads: ]

Dear Winter,

I hope you'll forgive my writing to you in this way, when there are quicker and more convenient ways available to us here, but I found this to be the most comfortable way to me to write to you for the time being.

Don't worry, I am not writing to inform or send you an invoice for anything this time. I write this letter as a friend, not as your innkeeper.

Thank you very much for finding and reuniting with me with my shadow. I am very sorry for all of the trouble it has caused you in particular. However...

I am also very glad to have people here who would care enough to genuinely help me. For reasons that have nothing to do with a given quest or a promised reward or compensation or experience or anything of the sort.

So thank you, above all else, for caring.

Sincerely,
Mina

a note; a couple of days later

[icyspicy]

[ Getting a letter of all things from Sumina is both unexpected and not. The Elderflower and the Blues often correspond this way but... this is something special, isn't it? A personal note between friends.

It warms something in him unexpectedly. So, of course, he has to write back. ]

My dearest Mina,

Of course I don’t find your letter a bother. There’s something to be said about familiarity when one is so far from home. The devices we’ve been given are indeed convenient, but they hardly compare to ink on parchment, don’t they?

It pleases me to know that you’re reaching out to me as a friend. I have enjoyed getting to know you beyond a professional capacity these past few weeks, and it is my hope that I can continue to do so. Perhaps another outing looking for interesting cuisine? There’s something to be said about how your eyes light up when you find something new that you enjoy.

All that aside, please don’t think you have to thank me for helping you with your shadow. Coming to the aid of a friend in distress is the very least I can do. You are well worth the effort. Please don’t ever forget that. I’m glad to know that you don’t plan on leaving the hotel anytime soon. This place would be much dimmer without your presence. I feel that is a certainty.

Thank you for being here. For staying. And, of course, for caring.

Yours,
𝓦𝓲𝓷𝓽𝓮𝓻

kicks down the door SOMETIME LATE NOVEMBER

[ohthehumanities]

[Kaveh is... outside today! Why is Winter outside? Who knows. Maybe he isn't! Maybe he's seeing this through a window? That's not my business.

Regardless, Kaveh is out there, and whenever--however--Winter spots him, he'll notice that Kaveh seems to be writing, or drawing, in a notebook of some kind! He pauses every now and then to study the hotel, then goes back to what he's doing. He also keeps stopping and shivering, which makes sense, because he's dressed down and has his hair pinned up in a bun. Why is he out here like this.]

[icyspicy]

[ Winter is indeed outside, but he likes to spend time on the hotel grounds for the unobstructed view of the stars and the asteroids. It’s a favored pastime of his.

It’s not often he spots someone else, though, and he can’t help but try and peer over Kaveh’s shoulder as he approaches. ]

Working on something?

text, late December-ish;

[astarion]

[Rather out of the blue, but that’s not a first from this vampire, is it—]

Darling, have you any free time? I’m feeling a bit

[like shit, really, after some mistlefoe nonsense]

restless, and I can’t think of more entertaining company.

[icyspicy]

For you, Astarion? Always.

[ And sincerely, he’s on vacation. What does he have but free time? ]

I can come meet you. Where are you at?

12/21

[airdnd]

[ There is another handwritten letter secured outside of the door to Winter's suite, along with a ... small giftwrapped box. ]

Dear Winter,

I'd like to wish you a very, very happy birthday. I realize that you might not have known your own birthday, but according to the hotel's magicks, it falls on this day. If my reckoning of how these dates correlate with our own calendar is accurate... That means the date of your birth falls one day after Simril. That feels rather fortuitous, doesn't it?

I hope it isn't untoward of me to greet you like this or to have gotten you a small present, but I hope you can accept it even as a small token of my gratitude for all of our years of friendship and for many more, moving forward...

I've also realized in the days since we last spoke that I left much unsaid. Too much, I think. But you know perhaps better than anyone else how difficult it is for me to give voice to my thoughts and feelings most of the time, so please forgive me for only being able to write about them:

I admire you a great deal, Winter. For all that you have said about me especially in the last few months, I worry that I have not reciprocated the selfsame feelings towards you in an acceptable way. But it's the truth - despite everything, you have carved a life for yourself in which you can thrive and truly be yourself, and unapologetically so. Though I'd only come to know you after you found that success, it has been precious to me, to learn more of the journey you'd taken to become the Winter who had stumbled into the Elderflower all those years ago.

Please know that no matter what happens between us, that will never change. And I will always be there for you, whether as an innkeeper or as a friend.

Thank you for caring for me so deeply, and for letting me dwell in your heart. I will forever be grateful for it, for your part in making me realize that I could occupy such a place in anyone's heart. I hope that one day, when I can hold myself proudly and wholly, I'll remember that it was you who first showed me that path.

Warmly,
Sumina

PS - In a few days, I will be checking out of Hotel Caelum to return to the Elderflower. My intent is to return after a few days; I'll be celebrating my birthday with my grandfather and checking on Elenaril and Anisa. If you'd so like, you can let me know if you'd like for me to bring anything back for you from Waterdeep.

[ The present contains within a glowing star map of Waterdeep on Nightal 21 - apparently, the date of Winter's birthday. ]

sometime after Christmas!

[recluserose]

Hello Winter,

By any chance, do you take care of your nails?

[That sure is an Amelia text, out-of-place question and all.]

I found the floor for your (late) Christmas present.

[icyspicy]

That's quite the question. I'm assuming context is forthcoming?

🎁 12/25 sorry it's me again

[airdnd]

[ On Christmas Day, an impeccably wrapped present is delivered to Winter’s suite with a note… again: ]

Dear Winter,

I apologize for the deluge of deliveries when you might wish for me to leave you well enough alone, but... In the spirit of celebrating these winter holidays at the hotel, I hope you enjoy this present. A mutual friend of ours insisted this is made in the likeness of an octopus, but I’m not quite seeing it. Perhaps you can weigh in, too.

Warmly,
Mina

[ Inside is this lil’ guy. ]

some nebulous time when Winter is around, we do what we want

[hexensabbat]

[Hello Winter, were you just enjoying your stroll through that random hallway?

Too bad the peace is about to be ruined.

Namely by this creature zooming your way, cackling as he goes.]

Heyyy! C'mon, Black Frost, we can talk about this!

[Ah, there's Ringo, chasing after him.

The Black Frost just yells, "You don't understand! I can't stay in this hee-hotel! I need to chase my movie star dreams, ho!"

Sorry.]

[icyspicy]

[ Ruined or improved?

Winter whips around, attention caught by the familiar voice but also...

What the fuck is that thing? And where is it going? ]

What on earth-? Do you need a hand?

text, sometime after two truths and a lie

[unliminal]

hey so i figured out how i stopped Y2K
so i DID win the game btw

[ This is not remotely what he's here to talk about but he can't just approach a sensitive topic directly like an emotionally intelligent, well-adjusted person would. ]

[icyspicy]

The point of the game wasn’t to win.
But go on, tell me how you stopped the machines from uprising.