⇨ 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

[hippocarnival]

It's draining Yuya's enthusiasm a little, his hands dropping and brow knitting in concern.

"I--yeah, but... what's bothering you?" He probably can't expect him to be ecstatic, given everything, but this is still really morose. "Is it what happened in Eden?"

[npcarnival]

"Only partly," he says, like he's unsure of what to say or if he should be saying anything at all. "...I shouldn't even be having this discussion with you."

He doesn't look at Yuya while he speaks.

"There's nothing to celebrate."

[hippocarnival]

Yuya shifts on his feet, seemingly deliberating something before he offers a softer smile.

"I don't think talking to me about how you feel is a betrayal to the Summer Court or anything. If you want to, I mean. It's... kind of lonely being so far from your home, right?"

[npcarnival]

"Yes," he says, without stipulation. Lonely is an very accurate word for it, and he wishes he could go back as desperately as ever. He wishes he hadn't been sent away in the first place.

"But it seems there is no right way to go forward. Nothing I can do... will be adequate to face it."

[hippocarnival]

"Well... you are here against your will. I joined the carnival on purpose and I still miss home." There's no judgement at all in Yuya's tone. He can understand it, it's a shitty situation, and improving it in little pieces doesn't fix the biggest issue.

Asking him to bear with it sounds terrible, but there's not a lot of other options.

"... This is selfish, but if I asked you to give us a chance to understand us, would you? Not just the carnival, but people like us in general. Who aren't as big and strong as the Fae. I want to understand the Fae better, too."

[npcarnival]

It illicits a mixed response. On one hand, he seems to grasp what Yuya is going for, on the other...

"It not as if I don't understand," Ignatius says with a sudden intensity, looking at him. "I'm not ignorant... there is no simple excuse for our actions. There are only priorities, and loyalty, and choosing what you will fight for above all else!"

He stands, crossing his arms and walking towards the other side of the room, beginning to pace.

[hippocarnival]

Yuya doesn't follow him pacing around, but he does watch him go back and forth.

"I don't want to fight." Which, by itself, is childishly simple. "I mean, if it's just about taking sides then things are never going to change! Even if we fight back, it won't change anyone's mind. It'll just keep going like this forever. And it doesn't have to."

He looks at Ignatius, imploring. "I don't want to things to stay like we're enemies. But first, we have to listen to each other, don't we?"

Not just pass the blame and guilt around, but talk.

[npcarnival]

Ignatius turns on Yuya then, his expression incredulous.

"Do you really think just asking your enemies to stop will accomplish anything? The only reason you've had the chance to mark me at all is because I'm your prisoner."

[hippocarnival]

'Mark' him? Yuya raises a brow before shaking his head.

"I don't think it's going to be that easy. But if we're only fighting each other, we'll only keep fighting each other forever until... until one of us is just dead."

It wasn't the most popular idea with the wounded parties back home, after being invaded and trampled. To listen so that the enemy would listen. But if the Fae only saw them as things they can trample on without guilt, Yuya thinks the only way to change that is to challenge the idea that they're justified.

"If it seems like nothing can change that, then I don't think we really understand each other at all. And I want to try."

[npcarnival]

He scoffs, his tail flicking in agitation.

"You sound like the Summer Maiden. She persisted, too, until the cost of her efforts became too much to bear, and then she ran away. Will you do the same?"

[hippocarnival]

Ah. There's a pause, Yuya's expression shifting with sadness.

"I met her. She told me a little about the rebellion." He rubs the back of his neck, finding his words. "That was just after we escaped Portland. I told her something similar, and it made her sad. She said the Fae haven't done anything for me to trust you, and I should be afraid. I think... she gave up on you."

On what were her people, which is sad to think about. They were probably her family too. "She told me the best she could do for us was to stay away and not support taking over our worlds."

He flusters a little, because even if this isn't the part of the conversation Yuya was expected to keep in confidence, he's still spilling her feelings. "I-I mean, I don't think I can change everything on my own! It's not just about making people stop, they have to change how they see things. And we have to give you the chance to be different. That's hard but wouldn't it be worth it, if things didn't have to be so hurtful between Fae and, uh, mortals?"

[npcarnival]

Ignatius stops with his back to Yuya, listening to what he says. It's hard to tell his reaction because of it, but as Yuya relates the Summer Maiden's words, Ignatius slowly moves a hand to cover the top of his face. He conceals and rubs his eyes - like one does to hide that they are crying.

"She asked me to come with her," he says, his voice tight. "Back, when her movement was alive. I refused her... but, my kin..."

It's in that moment that something peculiar happens. The Ignatius holding his eyes shakes at the shoulders and then sinks back down onto a nearby chair, and in the same moment another Ignatius stomps forward, sneering.

"And why should we have to be different?" he snaps, and angrily leaves the room. Meanwhile, the melancholy Ignatius stays seated and quiet, not even seeming to notice his doppelganger departing.

[hippocarnival]

That's what finally drives Yuya forward, tentatively approaching Ignatius as he sinks into the chair.

And then there's two of them, and Yuya's completely startled. He stops, looking rapidly between both Iggys with increasing confusion and alarm. What is going on? Should he get the Ringmaster?!

"W-wait!" Yuya reaches out to the angry Ignatius as he stomps out, snapped out of his stupor. He almost runs after him, but there's an Ignatius crying in the chair and he can't leave him either. Oh god, this is terrible.

He turns back and rushes to the chair, putting his hand gently on his shoulder. "Hey, it's okay..."

[npcarnival]

"This is how she saw me, isn't it?" he says, seemingly ignoring the departure of his other half. He's still covering his face with his hand. "Torch and I stayed behind, but what good did it do us? What good did it do anything."

Yuya doesn't have to be an empath to realize that this fae is depressed as fuck.

[hippocarnival]

Yuya can't worry about finding his other half and calling the Ringmaster like this. Well, he can, it's buzzing in the back of his head. But soothing Ignatius takes immediate focus, because he looks so broken.

Yuya crouches down so he can look up at Ignatius, his hands drawing down to hold onto the arm of the chair. "I..."

Well, he can't speak that far for the Summer Maiden. Maybe she did at the time, but. "That's not an easy choice to make. You had people you wanted to stay behind with, didn't you?"

[npcarnival]

"That didn't stop Gild. I felt like I should hate her abandoning our makers... and the Queen. Betraying them now, I'd be no better."

He's casually using names that Yuya has never heard of, but makers, at least, tends to be the word fae use for 'parents'. Thinking about this is difficult to deal with, partly because his coping mechanisms just manifested and stormed out of the room, and also because it fills with him homesickness and nostalgia.

"But what would have happened if I left? Who would I be? I don't know."

[hippocarnival]

Yuya doesn't know the specifics, but at least he doesn't need to, to grasp that these are people important to Igantius. That the Queen, his whole court is important.

He shifts and puts his hand on Ignatius' arm. "Maybe... no, I'm sure you don't have to leave." He offers Ignatius a reassuring smile.

"I said that I don't want us to be enemies, and I mean that for all the Fae. The Courts don't have to stop existing to stop hurting us. We can show them that, can't we? That it's not hopeless and the Summer Court can change how it treats mortals."

He wants to believe that for the Winter Court, too, but he knows Ignatius can't speak for their side.

[npcarnival]

"If we don't exert authority then the Winter Court will do it for us," Ignatius says, not arguing as much as he's dithering. "The Winter Court... they are different from us. Their inherent elemental being embraces the Void. They don't create, they only bring about endings."

Who knows how much of this is Summer Court bias, but it does seem like the Winter Court has a different kind of attitude.

[hippocarnival]

"... Then why don't you stand up to the Winter Court instead?" His hand squeezes absently. "Is that why you do it? I want to believe they can change, too. But what if instead of taking over worlds, you helped defend them?"

He looks up at Ignatius with more determination, then. "We're not as big and powerful as you, but... we have the same feelings. We have families and hopes and dreams. What if instead of taking all of that over, the Summer Court protected it?"

[npcarnival]

Ignatius finally pulls his hand away from his face, having wiped the tears away with his fingers. He doesn't return Yuya's gaze.

"We tried to go against the Winter Queen, to stop whatever she was planning." His voice sounds hollow. "We failed... and we paid the price."

[hippocarnival]

"... I'm sorry." Yuya gaze flickers down, briefly, before he looks back at Ingatius with raw sympathy. Even if he won't look back. It's rough, basically asking them to go to bat for the worlds they're colonizing instead, but...

"There still has to be a way to do things that don't hurt the people whose worlds you visit," he says softly, his voice losing some of its energy. He remembers Portland. He remembers the resounding terror from the Changelings when the Rose Queen was dragging them back. "Because that won't stop the Winter Court from doing it either, right? It's just more cruelty, and it doesn't have to be like that."

He worries over his lip, briefly. "I think we could do more if we weren't fighting each other. Maybe more to make the Winter Court stop."

[npcarnival]

"I have no control over what the Summer Court does," he says, words heavy. "It's not my place to sway the Queen's will. All I do is enforce it."

There's no pride in saying that, it's just the way it is.

"We fight and die for the Court. I'll die for it too, sooner or later. I should be dead right now."

[hippocarnival]

Yuya shakes his head. "It's your Court, too! It's your home. If anyone's voice is going to matter to her... it's going to be yours. Not mine."

There's a pause, as something shifts in the way his looks at Ignatius. Something a little more guarded. "You don't... think it's right, do you? What the Fae do to us?"

[npcarnival]

"I don't know," he says. "I don't know if it's right. I don't know if it's wrong. I thought I did, but I don't anymore."

[hippocarnival]

"... Then I think there's still a lot more to understand." Which is biased, but Yuya's in a position where he can only be a little biased. "I'll listen to you tell me about the Fae, but... will you listen to us tell you about being mortal, too? Those worlds you take, they're not rebels. It's not betraying anyone to understand how they feel. What it really means when you take over their lives."

His voice wavers a little at the end, and Yuya stalls to take a breath before he moves to stand, putting him a little more at eye level with a sitting Ignatius if he'd look up.