⇨ SHABONDAMASHII

[ringleaders]

Who: Everyone!
When: Day 92 - Day 99
Where: Shabondamashii Bathhouse
What: With the Silver Mirror claimed and the animals of Eden relocated, it's time for the carnival to kick back and enjoy an interdimensional bathhouse and the surrounding festival city. Meanwhile, the scattered shards of the Mirror have an unexpected effect.
Warnings: Dark/Light halves acting weird.

THE BIG CLEANSE↴ As the carnival recovers, the Ringmaster has brought it to the gates of a famous interdimensional bathhouse to rest. She won't be joining you for most of it, though she will be checking in frequently and available by radio. She's fixed a large portion of the Silver Mirror after it shattered, but it seems like pieces are missing. She doesn't want to rest until the missing shards are dealt with, and the Mirror itself is locked away safely. ► YOUR OTHER HALF: The shards missing from the Silver Mirror didn't just disappear - after breaking apart in Eden, fragments of the object embedded themselves in the spirits of those not already touched by its powers, and those that had been the most fae-touched. That means, your characters. The effect of this, explained in more detail on the plotting post, is that some characters will be splitting into two versions of themselves: the Light, and the Dark. This doesn't mean good and evil, of course, it's far more complicated than that. Splits can start happening at any time after arriving in Shabon, and initially characters won't know how to rejoin with their twins. Later on, it will become apparent that they need to reconnect via the shard of the Mirror they share... of course, in order to rejoin, you have to have both halves, and not all twins will be as eager to go back to the way things were before. This plot point is optional. ► SPA DAY: When you're not engaging in metaphysical division, you are free to enjoy the many luxuries that Shabon offers. Things will mostly have an east-Asian bend, like what you would see in the movie Spirited Away, but as long as it doesn't affect the setting much, you can honestly have whatever spa-type services available that you want. Food is served both in restaurants and 'buffet' style. There are also well paid sex workers here, if that is your thing, but make sure to tip well. ► FESTIVAL TOWN: The city surrounding Shabondamashii is largely meant to catch the business of interdimensional tourists. There are frequent parades and other events held, and the architecture is very closely packed. It's easy to get lost if you leave the bathhouse, but it's definitely worth it if you like party. You can pick out a few outfits for yourself and some fun nick nacks, but nothing that would normally require mod approval.

Comments

[apaintingdarkly]

Dark patiently watches her find her balance, smiling with genuine pleasure at her enjoyment. As much as he loves fun, he doesn’t get to have much of it comparatively speaking.

The question makes him raise an eyebrow. He hopes she’s not asking about him.

“What, the game? Looks like your typical ring-toss to me.”

[whattaprick]

Lambert looks at 9S like he’s a bit slow, then laughs.

“It was a joke. Considering how shy she can be around other people, I’d be surprised if she volunteered to bathe with complete strangers. But you can get private baths where that doesn’t matter,” he tells him. If he looks a little wistful, it’s because he is. He’d tried, unsuccessfully, to talk Childermass’s lighter half into one.

bar hopping

[kingsroads]

It's at one of those bars that she spots Strange. Thankfully, he's himself right now. And even more thankfully, this is before Strange goes and splits and gets his nose broken. He's got a glass of plain whiskey in his hand and is sitting at one of the outside tables when he spots Beau.

"Beau! Over here!" Strange gets up just to wave her over. He's obviously delighted to actually meet her in person and not through reflections. She seemed like a solid person from the brief moments they talked. He'd definitely like to get to know her better.

"Have you managed to adapt to the insanity? I wish I could say that what happened in Eden was an exception, but I'm afraid it's become more of a regular occurrence."

[kingsroads]

Talking about magic distracts Strange no matter what. When Yuya says he got it to work, Strange lights up and is obviously excited. Wait, show him later? Fuck that noise, show him now!

"At least tell me how you managed to piece it out!" Strange happily responds, as he lets Yuya yank him even further towards the bathhouse.

[kingsroads]

Fortunately for Syrlya, Strange's eyes are closed. He can't give Syrlya as much grief as he could if his eyes were open. Still, he's able to tell that the water's shifting and that whatever's happening over there was a sudden movement. Lazily, Strange opens an eye.

"Is everything alright?"

[dressedtothe]

Francis really is quite greedy, isn't he? 9S angles the snack down so he can take a bite, but 9S doesn't take his eyes off Rita. He hasn't seen her react to him like that before...

"Rita? What's wrong?"

He reaches for her hand with his free one, concern in his expression.

[dressedtothe]

9S tilts his head, the tip of a cat-like ear twitching as he stretches out his toes. "Is that why you look a little different?"

Is that a Sylvari thing? To change colour? He read in the records of the old world that some plants would change the colour of their leaves, though the cause of it was unknown. Some androids speculated it was part of their life cycle, similar to how flowers would bloom and then die.

[hippocarnival]

"Well, I don't understand it as much as you. I just followed your advice, and tried to see it like a door instead of a mirror?"

There's still a lot of trial and error to really nail it down, but the first successes were exiting. Maybe they can celebrate properly when all this is fixed.

Meanwhile, Yuya continues their journey. Once they get into the bathhouse, Yuya looks around critically before trying to lead Strange down the path that is probably increasingly obviously towards the rooms (Strange's room), and not any room with proper medical care. They can deal with that after.

[periphrasing]

The dragon's eyes go wide for a second before she manages to smooth her expression back out. Even though she's sitting in a hot bath at the moment, she feels her blood run cold.

"O-oh. What did you want, to. Talk about?" She asks, carefully pulling her jetta-sized form out of the water to sit awkwardly on the edge.

[periphrasing]

Peridot freezes up, her expression stuck in a stiff looking and downright confused smile.

"...What?" is all she can think to say to that.

[periphrasing]

"Face down?" Peridot repeats uncertainly. She's not sure she likes the idea of leaving herself so vulnerable but, if that's what's required...

"I think I'd like to see who's in charge of doing this 'muscle work' before I do any such thing," she says, glancing around for whoever is supposed to be attending to this room.

[textsfromhotland]

"No!" She exclaims with glee. "But it's part of the experience! And we gotta experience everything while we're here!"

[steadydollypegs]

"Ehh? Why not?" Doll easily deflects Ginko's hands, completely undeterred from creating as much physical proximity as she wants to. "Y'can' jus' sit here all day, there's so much out there!"

With a big grin, she pushes her bang behind her ear and tucks it as securely as she can. The burn mark that took up nearly half of her face is gone, as is her ruined eye. Doll is perfectly symmetrical, somehow.

"I can' find Joker, 'n I really wanna get somethin' ta keep m'hair back. Please?"

[steadydollypegs]

"Mad? About what?" Doll frowns a little, looking genuinely confused about what he's talking about. As far as this one's concerned, they only just ran into each other outside of the baths. She's been in there with her new girlfriends for hours.

[textsfromhotland]

"W-well, sorta? I mean, I dunno..." She stammers, trying not to make eye contact. "Everything here's so f-fancy, ya know? I don't really fit in!"

It's pretty clear to her: how could she take part in any of this nice stuff when she hasn't done anything to deserve it?

Yugo | Late Day 93 and Onward

[bananaspeedrider]

A - Dragon’s Mirror (Closed to Reira)

It seems to have fallen on Yugo this time to look after a certain small child during their stay here, but he figures that only goes for while they’re in the provided hotel rooms and not while out and about in the bustling streets. If she’s fine with that, he’s cool with it.

He enjoyed spending most of the first day here with his adoptive bird-like mom and finding a new set of dice for his collection (not a hoard) in one of the city’s many shops. And then there was that Shichi-Go-San the day before.

Despite all the fun and relaxation, it’ll certainly look and feel like he still has something weighing on his mind. But it probably wouldn’t be a good idea to let a seven-year-old play therapist.

---
B - Light Imprisoning Mirror (Yami Half Wildcard)

So what happens when you isolate most of everything that makes someone a headache into a single “dark” half of that person?

Well in this case… one might catch this half of Yugo making a wide berth for himself from the locals or snooping through the shops for making impulsive purchases. Anyone that approaches gets a cold look of disdain of all things, since there’s none of the boy’s relational attachments to be found here.

---
C - Dark Imprisoning Mirror (Light Half Wildcard)

Compared to the side acting like a delinquent, this half of Yugo has a much more chill demeanor about this- though they seem a bit apprehensive about all the sights and varieties of supposedly relaxing treatments.

But hey, maybe that’s normal for a teen that doesn’t really hang out in such a bright and lively city.

---
[OOC: Got something in mind yourself? Anyone tagging in can get a scene more personalized than what's described here.]

[textsfromhotland]

"B-bath...?" Alphys' face droops even lower than thought possible. "B-But that means we have to get undressed...and g-get all kinds of soap in our hair... it's kind of a hassle, don't you think?"

[pipers_son]

It's fine if she doesn't make eye contact. That just means he can make himself comfy, letting his wings stretch out instead of being stuck and confined.

"How so?" he asks, still relaxed as ever.

Ray of sunshine!

[textsfromhotland]

Luckily (in her mind at least), Alphys' dark half spots Papyrus coming towards her before he has a chance to notice her. The last thing she wants is to waste his time, so she frantically looks for a hiding place to duck into, and finds, appropriately enough, a nearby trash can.

Surely he won't notice the can that's occasionally shaking on its own...!

[textsfromhotland]

"Y-you know, this whole place kind of feels like a reward or something," She sighs. "For all the stuff that we did."

She wrings her hands nervously. "But I didn't do anything to help back there, so why should I get to do anything here?"

[lmpatientdefense]

It's a good time for them to first meet, Beau hasn't gotten an inkling of the whole Gem rundown. Instead, she considers the whole horse thing, then nods and shrugs at the same time.

"It's big," Beau says, like that's agreement. Jasper is probably the beefiest centaur she's met. Also, the first, so that's a grain of salt or three. "I mean, have you ever been kicked by a horse? It fucking hurts."

[kingsroads]

Yeah, Strange is figuring out pretty quickly that Yuya's leading him back towards his room and not anywhere near an infirmary. He opens his mouth like he's about to point this out, before sensible Strange rounds a corner, obviously relieved to see the other two. Looks like somebody's scrying spell actually worked!

"Oh thank God," sensible Strange mutters, as he looks over at Yuya and his reckless half. "Come on. We should go back to normal already."

Reckless Strange responds to that by glaring at Yuya and his other self as his grip on Yuya's hand tightens. Some of his claws are digging into Yuya's hand, but he doesn't really seem to care.

[hippocarnival]

It probably doesn't help Yuya's expression absolutely lights up with relief when the other Strange rounds the corner, much happier to see him. "Mr. Stran--"

He cuts off as he feels the claws digging into his hand, flinching briefly before he looks down at their joined hands to see if it's breaking the skin. It prompts him to give reckless Strange a nudge, like he's trying to encourage him forward.

"You know you can't stay like this." Honestly, he's kind of scary like this.

[pipers_son]

"Because it's not a reward," Joker says simply, before reaching over to lightly tap her on top of her head.

"It's a bribe~."

THAT MAKES IT ALL BETTER, RIGHT....

He continues on, however, with that brief joke out in the air. "The Ringmaster doesn't view this kinda stuff as a reward. I've been with her for years, now, so try ta trust me when I say it, yeah?" He smiles at her, even though he knows she might just keep staring down at the ground. "If it's a reward, it's in the contract, and she gives it ta us after a year. Rather... This is somethin' of a breather, and ta convince us not ta leave."

!! it's her

[spaghettimonster]

Well, that's not the best of hiding places. Unlike Doggo, Papyrus can see things whether they're moving or not... But moving objects, like shaking trashcans, still grab attention more than motionless ones.

Papyrus' voice gets louder as he talks to himself, approaching the trashcan and crouching down. "Hello? Is there a dog in here...?"