( open ) everything stays, right where you left it

[unliminal]

WHO: Gojo and you!
WHERE: Lobby and then about
WHEN: March 7
WHAT: Gojo checks back in after his canon update.
WARNINGS: MAJOR JJK manga spoilers!


a. re-arrival

[ And just like that, he’s…back.

Stepping back through the doors of Hotel Caelum requires of him a moment to stop and simply…exist. There’s a clock ticking on the nearby wall, counting seconds, the passage of time, water that trickles through a fountain, the sound of far off voices chattering as the staff go about their usual responsibilities. Sounds of life, far more peaceful than he realized sound could be – for the time being, his eyes are still closed, blue eyes shut fast behind his eyelids. One sense at a time. When his body intrinsically, indelibly knew that none of them should function anymore, reacquainting himself with such simple sensations is a task much easier said than done.

The most difficult thing to parse is the sound of his own breath. The rise and fall of his chest, the beat of his heart. It should not be, and yet it is.

He…had a promise to keep. Is that why he’s here now? Is that what brought him back?

One thing at a time, and he’s not ready to confront that yet. A hand grazes over the front of his shirt, passing along the width of his middle, before retracting like he’s been burned. That, he’s not ready to confront yet, either. It’s easier, so much easier, to just…not. To assume the role he always has, to shut down all else and function at a base level because anything more than that is too much. Untenable. Unknowable, as life after death ought to be.

There’s no mistaking what happened to him, like there’s no mistaking frost as the first sign of winter. Logically, he knew this could happen, and he could still return. Logically. It happened to Nanami, too, and yet devoid of the consequences of mortality, what does logic matter? Where does he even begin to unpack it? To put back together the pieces of the life he had here? Life? What about the people here he left behind, he needs to check in on them, what about the people he left behind –

A wave of an uncomfortable, unfamiliar sensation washes over him, his skin prickling and breath surging, but he pushes it down, away once more. He’s not ready for any of it. What he is ready to do, ultimately, is snap his eyes open, stroll right to the front desk and grab a bowl of candies sitting there, before taking it with him as he goes to sit in one of the plush armchairs. This is better, easier, old hat, to play at being okay. Fake it until you make it, right?

Stretching out in the armchair with one hand tucked behind him, the other pops a few candies into his mouth, the bowl sitting in his lap as he reclines back with one leg crossing the other. He chews, swallows, then pops a few more in, and then – ]

Quiet around here today, huh? …Was it always?

[ Kinda ironic for a guy who just thought a clock ticking was loud, like, two minutes ago. ]

b. re-connecting

[ A day or so later, after he’s had time to (dialup sounds) decompress or something like it, Gojo can be found visiting various floors around the hotel. He might be walking along the beach on the beach floor, or playing games at the arcade floor, shopping at the mall or IKEA floor, or reading manga on the manga cafe floor…anything to drive off the existential dread of being alive!

One of his favorite places to visit as of late is the onsen floor – it would seem he has a mighty need to relax, and there’s no place better to do so than in warm, steaming waters that remind him fondly of home. He’d say he’s not one for nostalgia, but there’s definitely something wistful in his expression as he gazes out at the snowy mountains that peek up behind the onsen’s high walls. They’re not real, but…

Well, it’s whatever. As he makes his way over to the hot spring wrapped in a towel around his waist, anyone nearby will immediately be able to see the massive, immaculately clean scar that wraps around his middle, matching one around his left bicep. He's not making any attempt to hide it, but anyone caught looking his way will earn an impish grin out of him. ]

Take a picture! It'll last longer. Maybe even be worth a lot of money! This is an investment opportunity for you.

[ He’s famous! And posthumous. ]

c. re-committing

[ The nights are the longest, and when sleep doesn’t come easily, he’s not one to lie around and wait for it. Rather, he gets up and goes to work; he’d gotten into peak physical condition these last few months, and he isn’t about to set aside that regimen just because of a pesky inconvenience like death. He still has other things to fight for, doesn’t he? He has other reasons to remain strong. The strongest – although, no, that’s not his superlative anymore, is it?

Doesn’t matter. If he’s not at the gym doing strength training, he’s at the beach, running along the length of the shore over and over and over again, until he’s winded and sore, and then he keeps going. Has to. It might be the middle of the night, but when you’ve got the bug to test yourself, there’s no stopping it, you know?

This is what he knows. This is what’s familiar, comfortable. Try to stop him, or maybe join him. He wouldn’t say no to some company, even if he’s in an unusually reticent mood to talk. ]

d. wildcard

[ Gojo is back from his canon update and everything is terrible! Feel free to wildcard finding him anywhere in the hotel or modify any of the above. For reference, his physical appearance has changed somewhat. Enjoy your buff Gojo with trauma! Yippee! ]