lostcarnival | ⇨ SHABONDAMASHII

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⇨ SHABONDAMASHII

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Yes, good. Thank-you-

Gongenzaka tries not to think about the soul contact going on, simply shaking his head. "Mnh- I- I, the man Gongenzaka, am not going to waste the store keeper's time by having them explain each tree..." he mutters, choking. "Auhh...th-though, I suppose, to look at these ones would be fine..."

"But how else are you going to know which one's the best for you?"

Yuya turns to face Gon with just a touch of amusement in his face--but it stills when he actually regards him. Yuya blinks once, quiet, and then raises an eyebrow. "Uh, are you okay?"

Still trying not to sputter, Gongenzaka nods. Marishi for her part, simply gives a cheery trill and moves back to his side. "I- I, the man Gongenzaka, am perfectly fine..!!"

"Don't worry about not looking at all of the trees, Yuuya..~ We can pick out the ones that are at least close to what we'd want aesthetically speaking, and go from there..."

The cat is getting a bit of a glare, right now.

Yuya doesn't look convinced, glancing between Gongenzaka and Marishi. She looks fine, but he's never been bothered about this before.

And then something occurs to him and back in Greysol Gon had a similar worry. Yuya yanks his hand back and looks at him in concern. "Does it feel different now? Sorry!"

"AUH-!!" Gongenzaka, suffice to say, panics. "Th- It is not something you have done wrong, Yuuya..!!"

Chuckling, Marishi confirms. "He's quite right, Yuuya, if you were not welcome to scratch my ears, I would let you know quite audibly I assure you."

"But if I shouldn't--" Sure, if Marishi didn't like it she'd make it very clear. But that doesn't disclude Gongenzaka being uncomfortable, which he seems to be. Maybe it feels odd, maybe it's something they should pay attention to because it might be an indication of what was done to him to result in that hole.

"A-Anyway, you can't see the bonsai from over there!" Not the ones next to Yuya, anyway. "If you're not ready to pick one, we can come back."

While Gongenzaka's ears pin backward, Marishi merely pouts. But neither can bring themselves to complain- one for the sake of modesty, the other because it's simply 'not her place' to say. Gongenzaka trots back near to Yuuya, scratching his head.

"Mnh... We could come back, certainly...though I, the man Gongenzaka, am not entirely certain what to do in the meantime then..."

It doesn't feel like the discomfort has really alleviated. Yuya forces back up a smile, gesturing wide with his hands in an attempt to smooth over the atmosphere. "There's a ton of shops out here! Or we can hunt down the parade, or go play the games. There's so much to do here!"

"There's a parade on..?" Marishi questions with honest interest.

"Auh...it is the amount of things there are to do, which make the matter of choice rather difficult, actually..."

Marishi hones in on the parade, and that's when Yuya makes a decision.

"Well, we have more than just today. Let's see if we can catch up to the parade!" He offers her a wink before squeezing by them to rush for the exit, gesturing for the both of them to follow.

He has no idea where the parade is, but that's fine. Walking around gives them a chance to look at everything else, and maybe they'll find something interesting there.

"Auh-! I-If you say so...!"

"We might as well, there's not much else demanding our attention..." Marishi purrs, agreeing. For all that he seems to awkwardly follow along, Gongenzaka at least comes in an apparently positive mood- his hooves clack against the ground in an almost familiar and 'geta-like' manner, a curious echo to the festivals of their home.

"Do we know what the parade will be displaying, at all..?"

Yuya gently pulls on Gon's sleeve, briefly, to point him in the right direction before walking down the path. Really, Yuya's choice is completely random, but maybe they'll find something that properly directs them to the parade route.

"There were floats and dancers when I saw it earlier. And the band!" So pretty typical parade stuff.

"Auh... ...I- I see..." Marishi is silent, but cheery, bounding along at their sides. They're going to be fortunate however- there's a bridge going right over the parade route, and they'll be able to tell thanks to distant shouts and cheering. "Hm! It would seem the layout of the city is quite friendly to the events at least..!!"

"I think it's like a tourist city. Like--oh!" He hears it! Once Yuya can make out the sounds of the cheering, he runs forward to the bridge. Most people are on the level below, and Yuya grabs the railing and leans over to look down below. The parade is just coming up under the bridge, a long line of colorful and bright paper floats, dancers, and the very enthusiastic band. The costumes and ribbons are glittery and overall it's a huge spectacle.

"Look! Gongenzaka, hurry!"

"MNH!!" It's not as though it's easy for him to be tugged away- on the contrary it would be difficult to move Gongenzaka indeed if he so desired.

He's even got his belt on under this Yukata.

But even so he seems to somehow be pulled along by Yuuya's arm, and when the other releases him to run to the bridge Gongenzaka still stumbles slightly as they reach the edge of the bridge. Lights fill a darkened sky, becoming stars themselves almost as figures of 'spirits' laugh and run alongside the paper streamers and floats. It's an inter-dimensional parade after all-they have to make it worth while!

Gongenzaka stares openly, eyes wide at it all. "Auh....it's..."

"Ah...this never does get old, does it?" Marishi hums- rather clearly referring to the 'everything' beyond their little home of Earth.

Edited 2018-08-31 02:33 (UTC)

Yuya folds his body over the railing, his grip tightening to keep him steady even as his feet start to lift off from the ground for a better look. He's wide-eyed and enamored with the sight, because Yuya's always been one to appreciate a good show.

"It's amazing... look at that!" Yuya squirms, getting one hand free to point at the colorful sparklers being juggled on a float, like fireworks that continue to pop in place.

"It...it is..." He's quite at a loss for words. His eyes are wide as he takes it all in, looking about at everything. "...It has been long enough since I, the man Gongenzaka, have been to a festival more familiar to us but... ...to see it displayed with such 'magic' as well is..."

"...It feels a bit like watching a Solid Vision display..."

Yuya looks up at Gongenzaka as he talks, falling quiet. It's been over a year since Gongenzaka's been home, something Yuya's always aware of to some degree, given how much he's changed, but is brought all the more to the forefront of his mind now.

He leans off the railing, fumbling with his pouch to pull out his smartphone. He angles it down, as far as his arms can stretch down below, and starts taking pictures. "I think it's more amazing than that. It's real."

There is a numb nod. "Auh... ....it is..." He turns slowly to look at his friend, watching as the other gets his phone to take pictures. "Mn- there is still room on the device, then?" He's surprised- but then maybe Yuuya's just been transferring to the laptop in Reira's trailer every so often.

"I don't take that many pictures." And Yuya in Portland was in a kind of wealthy situation, so this is a high quality smartphone with a lot of storage. Good camera, which is all that he uses it for now.

He looks sideways for just a second, then snaps one more picture of the parade before pulling back and turning on his heels to point the lens at Gongenzaka. Since there's no glamour here, all of Gongenzaka's changes are visible as he angles it up to his face.

Yuya's tail swishes side to side under his yukata. "Say cheeese!"

"Auh- it is just something I, the man Gongenzaka, am still not quite used to seeing, that is all..! It was not something that we did, at home..." Then again, there hadn't been much to take pictures of, and... "Auh-!"

"Cheese~"

He only barely manages to start smiling- it makes it look rather silly and awkward as a result.

It does look silly, and Yuya's expression twists wryly.

"It's not that weird! It's a festival, we're making memories to keep." He waves the camera before focusing it again. "Come on, smile!"

It's ridiculous, truly. Gongenzaka stares and then sighs. Relaxing somewhat, and putting a more honest smile in place. 'That's more like it,' Marishi is saying, but Gongenzaka is not quite listening. Rather as he relaxes his focus goes to the one with the camera, the way the lights are exploding around them...

"R-right..." Phew. "Saah, I, the man Gongenzaka, shall make certain you have some proper photos as well then..!" He laughs, still somewhat redfaced.

Yuya takes the photo quickly when Gongenzaka finally relaxes and smiles. And then a second, just to make sure he gets a good one.

Then he lowers the phone and smiles warmly back at Gonenzaka. Something rises in his chest, and he takes a deep breath to keep it pressed down.

"I think that's a good one." He hasn't even looked at it yet.

He can see he hasn't looked, too- it brings a warm laugh from him, and he shakes his head. "You have that sense, do you? ...well! As it is your sense, I, the man Gongenzaka, can only trust it, yes?" His smile grows, and he finally sets a hand on and around the other's shoulder so they can watch the show.

"...I... ...I, the man Gongenzaka, am glad to be able to share such photos with you."

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