⇨ 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

[soft_focus]

[Reira is just going to....frown, a lot.] Mnnhh...

Your face is still mostly the same though...

[Welcome to the realities of growing up, Reira. Anyway.] You still didn't say if you have a birthday...how can you know you're more than 14 here if you didn't have a birthday?

[soft_focus]

"Ummm..."

The daemon- who shifts into a large bird, now very, very awkwardly trailing around that initial yukata, blinks. "...It shall SUFFICE."

So that's a yes. "...It's a big pile...it's getting hard to hold."

[bananaspeedrider]

I don't need some kind of huge celebration just to know how long a year is...!

[And it almost feels like the tiny child is calling him dumb, but that's most likely not the case. But the emotion behind it cracks like a whip regardless.]

[soft_focus]

I didn't say that...

[The hunch was Correct.] ...Everyone said I should pick a birthday, so that's important for getting older isn't it?

[bananaspeedrider]

[And now he miiiight feel a bit like a jerk because of it.]

Sort of... it's... mostly a chance for everyone to know when to celebrate that with you, that's for sure. Especially for the people that care about you.

It wouldn't be as special if getting that kind of attention happened more than once out of the year.

[betheman]

"MN! It is not something 'against' them..! It is simply..."

Marishi blinks. "They're just festival clothes. Not something you wear EVERY day..."

Exactly. Gongenzaka explains. "Yukata are...for an 'occasion'. It is a casual occasion, certainly, but still an 'occasion'. More than two would be...a little much."

"I suppose when we consider how often 'changes' hit, there is a point to that..."

"With you, I, the man Gongenzaka, will be surprised you only take two..."

[betheman]

Both are silent, for a few tense moments. They have to answer eventually, however, and so Gongenzaka sighs.

"...The Carnival was...enlisted to aid the people of a realm we visited. A battle against Vampires. ...However, they were able to follow those of the Nightrunner's crew back...and they attacked us within the Carnival itself. Not many perished, but..."

"...It's why Sans is our Warden now. And... ...Why so many of the 'longer' highers chose to leave." Last time Hanamaru was here, there were probably many people who had longer contract records than say, Carly.

Not so, now.

[kingsroads]

"That sounds like the stuff of children's stories," says the literal magician who's made multiple contracts with the fae. Still, Strange knows he can't really judge on what sounds ridiculous or not ridiculous.

He's super curious and nosy, though, so he continues to barrage Shura with questions.

"Do they come from the realm of Faerie or another realm entirely? Or were they simply always there?"

[verbaltic]

Fighting vampires and vampires breaching carnival grounds itself...Hanamaru still looks worried but now she understands a little bit more. Why she had a different job, why the Ringmaster seemed a bit different, why some of the carnival people she didn't recognize looked more changed than her.

"And it's not as easy as we defeated the vampires and everything's fine now, isn't it."

With the information she's already gathered from her brief return, too much has changed for Hanamaru to call their situation 'fine.'

[verbaltic]

I did, [ she says, with a nod. ] There was some stuff I had to take care of, so the Ringmaster let me go home for a bit.

[ Try as she might, she can't hide the melancholy expression and tone as she talks about the stuff she took care of. She's glad it happened. But man, was it all a little bit sad. ]

And you obviously showed up here while I left! How long've ya been here, zura?

[dressedtothe]

The Carnival, huh? He's not entirely certain what to expect from the other part of the split Rita, but... it can't be all that bad, right? Even if they're like... this... they're still both parts of the original. The original who he loves completely, not partially.

Following Rita's lead, 9S stands.

"The sooner the better, right?" 9S smiles brightly, holding out a hand for Rita to take, not thinking about her earlier hesitation. "Let's go."

[prazerbutterfly]

It's a small victory given the only reason Strange would be able to kiss him was if he had no choice or he decided watching Strange fluster over it later would be a more enjoyable option.

There's a dozen questions forming in his mind as he listens. At first, he comes to a theory it was because Strange spent so long of a time in the Mirror. But that quickly changes when he mentions Lambert and Rita. Lambert was close but then Rita wasn't, or at least not as close as Strange was given he was in it. Yet he can't dismiss the Mirror all together given strange things started happening when the Blue Rose appeared.

"Were you fiddling with magic at the time, or was it simply a verbal argument?" he questions almost demandingly.

[textsfromhotland]

Alphys gawks at the plaque, then turns and grabs Yuya's face, staring determinedly at him.

"Oh my god we have to do this."

[textsfromhotland]

Now that just puts bad thoughts into her head. "W-w-w-w-what if it does hurt!?"

Looks like you may have to drag her there after all, Shura.

[textsfromhotland]

Odd? Nothing's odd! Everything's fine! She's better than she's ever been, now that she's gotten rid of all the part of her she dislikes. She doesn't hesitate to pull him away. "Gosh, this is so great, you know? I really feel ALIVE here!"

[soft_focus]

[HRm. She's trying to get the understanding on this but...

...Nope, still weird. Also-] ...So, if it's not something that matters to you, you don't need one?

...Does that mean you don't have one, because every time of the year can be special that way?

[exaomori]

You could quit closin’ yourself off like that.

[But how many times has she told him that? It was fine if he didn’t share everything with her, but she knows well enough that he’s not going to tell anyone if something was going on. ]

Fine, have it your way.

[ She relents, knowing that he will probably take it as a victory. This wasn’t Yukio, but it wasn’t not him. It’s frustrating, but she’ll still press through the crowd to catch up with him. Leaving him alone wasn’t the answer, and if she was a more honest person, she could admit that she would rather have his company than not. ]

[kingsroads]

"A verbal argument," Strange explains. Or at least, as verbal as it could be before Lambert punched him in the face. "And it wasn't even an argument about magic! We were arguing about Childermass."

He's still trying to cling to Tyki's arm as he explains everything. Fortunately, wanting Tyki to like him and wanting to keep Tyki by his side means that Strange isn't stingy with the details. He's explaining all this like it's routine, business as usual.

[bananaspeedrider]

Well no, I have one. It's not whatever you could call my real one. [Just knowing it would have to be what unknown day it was when Ray first handed Zarc's scaly ass to him.]

But Rin and I picked it.

[pipers_son]

"Oh, without a doubt." Always think in terms of worst case scenarios, after all. With this many mess ups, it's almost a given. Besides, at worst they'll be over-prepared, but they'll be pleasantly surprised.

Joker isn't particularly sure they'll get that second half, honestly.

"Have ya been talkin' about all of this with the others, too?"

[pipers_son]

"Oh, that's what they all say~." Laughing, Joker ducks around someone else who's passing through and, indeed, begins to lead the way. "Well, it doesn't matter much ta me as long as ya can still eat a little bit of somethin'." It'll work out in the end either way.

It takes some walking before they arrive in a small dining area, where some hanging curtains clearly advertise where the actual kitchen is. It seems like a slow shift, relatively speaking- a lot of people like bouncing out to the restaurants in town it seems. Joker gestures to where the counter area is. "Take a seat~."

[hippocarnival]

Yuya nods with a smile as he sits down, setting his bag on the counter a little out of the way. He folds his arms on the counter, craning his neck to watch Joker. "I didn't know you cooked. Is it a hobby?"

Thanks childermass

[chronosynthesis]

Syrlya frowns, and it's almost a pout when he's chided. He's about to argue he's already tried relaxing and that's what turned him purple, before Childermass sits up and suggests hitting up town.

He pauses, taking a longer sip of wine. "How well are your wounds holding up?"

They should probably avoid anything too strenuous, he doesn't want to be responsible for anything getting torn.

[chronosynthesis]

"The others... meaning the rest of the Militia, or the carnival as a whole?" While he's not against anyone learning to defend themselves, he hasn't considered teaching it. He's just used to taking care of people's problems for them. Especially the fatal ones.

"I think we could only benefit from unifying our efforts. The hard part is getting everyone to actually cooperate with it. There's hardly been any structure to the carnival."

And that makes everyone less adapt to becoming more structured. Especially with the Ringmaster's lack of guidance.

[pipers_son]

Well, that's sure an opposite reaction. Joker waits patiently for her to go through her embarrassment before lightly nudging her again with a wing.

"Hey, Alphy, what's a bribe?" he asks calmly.