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.

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Yuya briefly glances at Strange. The walk is enough for his immediate frustration to fade enough for him to remember this isn't all of Strange. So his voice is a little calmer, even if he doesn't quite smile because this side of him is still really stressful.

"Yeah... I got it to work. I'll show you later, okay?" He squeeze's his hand in a way that's probably meant to be a reassuring gesture, as the trees start to spread apart and they're reaching the entrance of the bathhouse. Yuya almost starts to hurry.

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.

"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.

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.

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.

Reckless Strange doesn't exactly want to leave. His claws continue digging into Yuya's skin as he turns to look at his other self. Not really certain what to do or how to convince himself that they should stay apart, reckless Strange falls back on something simple and kind of cruel: just outright trying to attack sensible Strange with various insecurities.

"And why can't I? It would be better if we stayed apart! One Strange to be useful, one to be a disappointment. Hell, maybe more than three people would actually trust me if that were the case!"

Sensible Strange frowns. It's one thing to think these things, it's another to have yourself vocalize them and say them in your face (wow, what a weird sentence). Still, he's thought these things already, so no matter what he says, that's not going to change his mind. All his other half is doing is telling him things he already knows. "I know this already," sensible Strange simply says. "But Yuya's right. I've got to become myself again."

Yuya flinches again and starts trying to pry his hand free from Strange's, because that's getting increasingly painful. "It wouldn't be better. It's not about being useful or disappointing, it's about being you."

He glances aside to sensible Strange, like he's hoping for some kind of backup here. Come on, have some self esteem! "Even if you stay separated, you'll just develop new bad habits and be something different, but it won't mean you're better! You don't have to change who you are."

The problem with having all your recklessness and impulsivity siphoned off into one half is that it's a little hard for the other half to say the right thing at the right moment. Give sensible Strange a moment as he tries to come up with the right thing to say. In contract, reckless Strange just keeps yelling.

"Oh please. Half the carnival would gladly trade me for something different," reckless Strange scowls, as he rolls his eyes. "You, Ignatius, and the Ringmaster. You are the only three who actually fine with the way I am, everyone else—"

"When I was brought before the Mirror," sensible Strange interrupts, "I called upon the boon with Creation to keep me whole. I didn't want the Mirror to change me and I didn't want to hurt people. How is this any different?"

Said with a pointed stare at Strange's deathgrip on Yuya's hand.

"They--wouldn't!" The problem is that Yuya, while not out of shape, is a teenager and more built for acrobatics than fights. Strange ultimately has the stronger grip, but he's still struggling to free himself. "You have friends here, and maybe you fight with them sometimes but they like you because you're you, and they wouldn't want you to cut yourself in pieces like this! It's not really what you want, is it? Wouldn't you rather have all of your feelings again?"

Reckless Strange doesn't say anything. Instead, he just looks between sensible Strange and Yuya with an expression that's equal parts irritated and desperate. A moment passes before he lunges forward, grabs sensible Strange's hand—

And then they merge. Where there were two Stranges, there's just one, facing Yuya and looking slightly surprised. Oh. That was easy. And so, he continues the conversation as if this is perfectly normal.

"I'm afraid you're wrong," Strange casually remarks, as he idly prods his nose. Almost instantly, he winces. Nope, that hurts, not going to do that again. "I can think of plenty of people who would like me more if I was someone else. Still, I'm not going to give them the satisfaction of letting that happen."

Fuck you everybody, you're stuck with him.

Yuya waits for a moment, apprehensive, but when Strange seems to be himself again, he immediately relaxes with relief.

"Well, I'm glad you're back to being yourself." Not the least because yandere Strange was a little terrifying, but if Strange isn't going to bring up the whole 'you can never leave me' thing, then he's not going to either.

He looks down at his hand, flexing it now that it's free--it's sore and there's a couple shallow puncture marks, but all it needs is a bandaid. Strange's situation is a little more urgent. "Uh, but we should really find you a doctor now."

"We should find you a doctor as well," Strange says, as he gestures to Yuya's hand. It's obvious that something's annoying or physically hurting Strange slightly, more than just the emotional hurts of 'great job dipshit, you'e cut up your friend.' Oddly enough, he feels like something's stuck there. As he talks, he massages the tip of his nose slightly, like he's trying to push something down or something towards the end of it.

"Were I myself with my full capacities of thought, I wouldn't have hurt you like that. Hell, I wouldn't have said the terrible things I did. I'm truly sorry and—"

And then another shard of mirror falls out of his nose and falls to the ground with a remarkably loud clatter for a very tiny shard. Thankfully, Strange now has the mental capacity to realize hey, this shouldn't be coming out of my nose, what the fuck is going on.

"—and everything else can be said after we find the doctor."

Yuya looks up, then holds his hands up in an easing gesture as Strange starts to apologize. "No, I know, it's--"

And then something falls out of his nose. Yuya slowly looks down at it, stuck surprised. And then he dives quickly, picking it up in one hand and grabbing for Strange's arm with the other to start pulling him along. "Yeah, let's go now!"

He holds the shard up to the light as they walk. It... "Is that a piece of mirror?"

Strange easily lets himself get yanked down the hallway. He's far too busy worried about the fact that there have been multiple shards of mirror stuck in his nose than anything else at the moment.

"Maybe? I'm not sure!" he says, in a slightly panicked tone that's a good mirror of Yuya's. "This is only the second time this happened—the first shard fell out after Lambert punched me."

So what, does this mean his nose is made of mirrors now? That's stupid! He has skin! What's going on?

"It's not the first time?!" How the hell did Strange get a mirror stuck up--wait. "Are you made of mirror now?"

Like, he has mirror everywhere else. Maybe it's started getting inside him? That's kind of a horrifying thought.

He'd like to hope they can get a real answer, but as it is he's just going to bust into the clinic room in a panic and hope the healing bathhouse is also good at healing broken noses.

"I've got skin!" Strange whines, like this somehow affects the fact that he might be made of mirror. "How can I be made of mirror if I've got skin?"

But that's the most protest that Strange is going to make before they're yanked off to the clinic room. Obviously, a literal broken nose is different from a few puncture wounds, so Strange and Yuya are separated for a bit. When Yuya sees Strange for the next time, he's got this slightly foul smelling herbal gunk smeared all over his nose. He's also holding a hand mirror and constantly muttering spells as he looks in it.

There's a small pile of broken mirror shards sitting on a table next to him. Fun fact: they all came from his nose. Another fun fact: Strange has bullshitted some magic to get them out of his nose.

When he spots Yuya, he stops muttering and gives Yuya a weak smile that's trying really hard to be confident. "Well, do you want to hear the good news or the bad news first?"

Yuya watches him go, inspecting the mirror shard before he's sat down for some quick salve (it smells weird) and a bandage. He ultimately throws the shard in the trash, waiting it out until he can see Strange.

It's immediately obvious he didn't need to keep it, because Strange has a growing pile on the table. He approaches with trepidation, leaning on the edge of the table. "Um... tell me the bad news first."

And then immediately follow up with the good news, he's still looking like he's barely containing his worry.

"Well, the bad news is that I'm almost entirely internally covered with this stuff," said as Strange gestures to the small pile of mirrors. "It's on my bones, my heart, and what looks like most of my muscle."

This is ridiculously bad news and Strange knows it, so he quickly plows ahead with the good news. "The good news is that I've pieced together a spell that lets me magically view the growth of this thing. The spell's tailored to the magical signature of the Silver Mirror, which I suspect is the cause of these damn mirrors, but I can at least use it to see if anything breaks."

"What about a spell that fixes it when it does break?" Because, well, he's already failed to avoid breaking it. And given the amount of fighting they get into, he's not hopeful. "Does magic healing work on it?"

He knows what all happened to Steven because of the Blue Rose, so... of course something similar would happen to Strange. But it sounds so much more dangerous, like he can cut himself up with it.

"It would depend on the specific spell. Obviously any sort of healing where one needs to touch the wound won't work." Because, you know, skin. "An area of effect spell might work but obviously I'm loathe to try that. If this is anything like my mirrored scars, then the interior mirrors would grow back on their own...perhaps I could come up with a spell to move any broken mirrors inside me through another mirror."

Any worry about the fact that he's now covered in fragile inside mirrors or that this is something Strange should really be worried about is temporarily forgotten: Strange is about to go off into a nerdy magic rant. He looks around, like he's looking for something. "Yuya, do you see some pen and paper around here?"

He is absolutely about to go off. Yuya holds his hand out, but doesn't reach all the way to touch him. "No, but... maybe you can go back to you room to figure it out?"

Just to not, well, take up so much space in the clinic. "After you get all the pieces out of your nose."

"Tweezers will probably take care of the rest." Jonathan Strange, keeping it classy. "This gunk is mostly to help the bones set properly."

There's some sort of herbal concoction that comprises Strange's tiny little nose mask, but like hell if he remembers specifically what it is.

"They want to keep me in a bit longer to make certain everything sets. However, sometime tomorrow or so, we should have a proper meeting of the minds. You work on your magic, I work on my magic, and we'll bounce ideas and theories off each other until we figure something out."

Yuya smiles a little, pulling his hand back. "Yeah, that sounds good."

At least for the assurance that Strange is okay, but Yuya also can't sit and take up room in the clinic with a minor wound.

He leans back, making a gesture like a phone with his hand. "I'll have my radio if you want to call me! Otherwise, I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Be careful," Strange teases, "if they keep me in here too long, I might spend my time bothering you."

Strange knows his attention span is shit and he doesn't have a book: him bothering Yuya is pretty likely. Still, he'll give Yuya a little wave before Yuya takes his leave.

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⇨ SHABONDAMASHII

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