⇨ 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

[reflash]

[Yukio has never done this, but he's a Dragoon, and if he couldn't keep track of a single target he would have been dead years ago.]

All right. [Shura, if you want him to lose this game you need to give him more than one cup of sake beforehand. He flips an empty cup, and waits for Shura to take her turn.]

DAY WHATEVER

[flashover]

Yukio has been split for a few days now, and... it's starting to get kind of worrisome. Even though it seemed harmless, Rin had a feeling in his gut that it was anything but. It just couldn't be safe for your soul to be in two different pieces, you know?

So while Rin sits with the "dark", unwanted half of Yukio, Nosh flies about the city of Shabon, searching for the "light" half.

Rin 'looks' at the sad version of his brother and puts a hand over his. "She'll find him, ok? Me and Kuro are gonna wait here with you until then."

[exaomori]

Shura can't help but sigh at the pleading. What a dumb puppy-like kid. "I got it, I got it. I'll take more pictures for you." It's not exactly a pain, but she wouldn't do it for anyone else.

But she doesn't have a chance to think about pulling out her phone to grab a quick shot of the vendor before Rin's stomach growls. For real? She hadn't taken that long picking out the yukata!

"You ate something before we came out, didn't you?"

[exaomori]

[It's fine, let him build up his confidence. She can handle losing a round or two, and she'll play it cool, turning over a second empty cup.]

Nya, your turn~

[Also, she knows there's a chance he'll assume she's cheating right off the bat, so he could make the mistake earlier than she anticipates.]

[reflash]

The dark half of Yukio curls up next to his brother, hating that Rin is here and hating that he's so painfully glad to have his brother with him and hating that Rin is worried about him.

"You don't have to be here," he mutters, through incessant tears. "It's... Don't waste your time, nii-san."

It is a waste of time. He knows how this is going to end. The light half of Yukio is going to be the only thing left at the end, which means that this part has to die.

But his tail still wraps around his brother, gentle but firm in an attempt to selfishly get Rin to stay.

(Meanwhile, the light half of Yukio is in a restaurant eating lunch right now. Nosh is going to have to keep searching for a while longer.)

[kingsroads]

And this is how a grownass man ends up with one of those sheet masks that look like animal faces.

Predictably, Strange is super pumped about this idea and looks like he's ready to take this from zero to 100. "Well what are we waiting for! I think my feet are eaten up enough—show me where you can find those masks!"

[reflash]

[He doubts she would cheat on the first round. The second or third, probably, but to cheat right off the bat would stop him from wanting to play.

He flips the last empty cup.]

Your turn, Shura-san.

[flashover]

Look. He's adorable. And he's just learning to own it, that's all. He would be cool, one day. But for now, he'll settle for cute. He hears her phone snapping photos and he gives a grateful smile.

"Um.... I think I did... maybe?"

He doesn't remember. And, apparently, neither does his stomach.

just a last couple tags for wrap-up?

[spaghettimonster]

It's not the reaction he expected, given this was the last of a few ways he's gone deliberately ominous - meaning to scare her into choose to go away on her own. But he should have expected it. Reira's odd and always seems to react differently than others.

"You really can just take this all in stride, huh..?" Papyrus slouches in on himself, holding his tail and its disconnected tip in his hands, but there's a little smile in his voice.

"I haven't... tried any of that. Maybe... If you're right, and I go back to... one Papyrus, I'll try it."

[flashover]

Just so full of hate, dark Yukio. That's to be expected. But Rin doesn't care -- he's here for Yukio, ALL of Yukio, no matter what.

"I'm not wasting my time, I'm hanging out with you! I know you're in a bad place right now, but I'm going to try and make it better."

He's not going anywhere, Yukio. He won't let this be your end.

-----

Meanwhile, Nosh has something. He has a photo. A photo of Yukio. She carries it in her mouth! She lands and shows the photo around, tilting her head curiously.

Finally, after a good half hour of searching, someone points to the restaurant. She spots him from the window as he finishes up his meal, and taps a claw on the glass.

[exaomori]

[ She'll accept her loss with a laugh.]

You have the hang of it, that's good~

[And she won't try to dodge responsibility, flipping over the last cup to reveal the flower before reaching for the sake bottle to fill the cups up. Sensibly, a reasonable amount, not overflowing, nothing Yukio could complain about. But she will move to eat another bite before downing the first cup.]

Wanna play another round, or do you wanna play somethin' else?

[reflash]

"I'm always in a bad place," he says, with a crack of broken laughter. "It's never going to get better, nii-san. It's just--"

It's just how he's always been, how he always will be, and it's crushing him. With all the good stripped out of him, there's nothing here but desperate selfishness and weakness, and he grabs at Rin's hand. Please don't go. Please don't leave him. Please don't let him fall apart completely.

----

When Nosh taps on the window, Yukio looks over at her and nods. Just wait a moment and he'll be out.

And when he does come out, he smiles politely at the Pokemon, with a little nod.

"Hello, Nosh. Is everything all right?"

[exaomori]

In the end, he was still a goofy teenage boy. Wasn't he supposed to be eating all the time? Jeez. Shura has to put her phone away, moving to grab him by the arm and guide him towards the register.

"C'mon, let me get this and we'll get a snack or somethin'."

And she can just grab whatever obi is within reach on their way up to the register. It'll probably work, whatever color it is. She'd make it work.

"Think I saw a place sellin' candy apples on our way in... Mm, or maybe we should go somewhere with crepes?"

[reflash]

"I'll play another round," he says, taking another piece of tempura as he watches Shura fill her cups.

"You'll have to come up with an easier game if you want to play with my brother."

[exaomori]

"Y'think? Well, it'll be best if you come by here again before we head out~" Is Shura passive aggressively telling him his man feet are bad? Probably. But most assuredly, Strange is going to end up with a wide variety of the dumbest masks to wear.

At least she mostly remembers where she saw some little shop pretty close that sold face kits. It's half-souvenir, half-beauty store, plenty of little knickknacks and other things to distract customers. Shura won't immediately guide him to the face stuff, instead distracted by this particular device.

"Eeh, they sell those here, too?"

[exaomori]

"You want me to bring him out? Haha, he's still got a way to go before I can bring him out with me~" Though she would let him get drunk with her in her trailer...

Shura takes her drinks in quick succession, a clear pro. It's going to hit her in a moment, but she doesn't seem too affected by the alcohol as she casually slides the cups towards Yukio.

"Now you do it, and I'll pick first."

[reflash]

"Let's add in another cup." He suggests. He's nowhere near as experienced with this as she is, and he's fairly sure she'll be able to keep track of the cups and leave him stuck with the flower. Time to see if she'll go for an odd number.

[drrdrrdrr]

"... Oh," says Amethyst. "I -- yeah. Okay. Right." She hauls herself onto the edge of the bath. "Peridot..."

[exaomori]

Her grin widens into a leer.

"Sure~"

Except she's pushing two cups forward. She knows exactly what he's trying to do, and she can play this game, too.

"I mean, unless you don't think you can switch this many around ♥"

[insidescoop]

Maybe. Definitely.

It's certainly not something Carly would have wanted to explain back then after all. Carly simply grimaces, unsure of how to...explain. How relevant Eruka's comparison is.

"...That would be...umn. Great if it wasn't related to 'gods' already..."

[stompadour]

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jasper paws the ground with a glossy, painted hoof. "Why would anything be different? She's more determined than ever not to have anything to do with me!"

[insidescoop]

"I sure am~!" Hell yeah!

That's a question that gets an amused huff however. "I'm sure there's plenty that could do that, but that's not fun at all! It'll be a long, and wonderful journey...~"

[insidescoop]

"I sure wouldn't know. It could be anything!" Anyway.

Carly nods. "Of course!...Within limits, anyway. If the materials are particularly...unique, or precise, I might need you to cover the extra costs."

[reflash]

His plan backfired completely, but he doesn't really react to it as much as Shura might hope. There's no flinch or glare or half-vocalized annoyance. He just flips the cups over, replaces the flower, and starts switching them around, claws tapping on the ceramic.

"Your turn."

[insidescoop]

"Noooo, noooo!" she snorts, making gestures with her hands. Like if she caught a massive fish- except she's not talking about fish. "Think the other parts of Kaiju movies..~ The best part~"