⇨ 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]

"Uh... sure." He's not totally confident when he hears it's making food, versus just buying it. 'I mean, I can't cook much, but I can try?"

If he's in over his head, he can just direct Joker to talk to Rin. Or, well, give Joker the names of everything he's looking at so he can describe it to Rin for opinions.

"What were you wanting to make?"

[pipers_son]

Ha, he hears that lack of confidence. Snickering, Joker just reaches over to ruffle Yuya's hair. It certainly can't get any messier, after all.

"I just need ya ta taste test, don't worry. Anyway, it looks ta be mostly beef and rice in a bowl- at least, that's the first thing I figured I'd try." Rice is kind of outside his usual comfort zone, being not something really found in England, but, hey. It seems to be pretty common around here, and beef is simple, so... how hard can it be?

[hippocarnival]

Yuya ducks a little as his hair is tousled, but he perks up a little. Free food, he can totally do that. "Oh, okay! When are you making it?"

Unless he already has. Maybe Joker's prepared.

[pipers_son]

"I told the folks at the bathhouse I'd be back in around an hour if I could find someone ta experiment on." Because that makes this so much more reassuring, right? Definitely. "They're letting me borrow a little kitchen area, very kindly indulgin' me on this whim and all, ha ha."

He waves his hand around a little vaguely. "So if ya can jut meet me there, it'd be helpful. But if ya already have somethin' lined up, don't let me get in the way."

[hippocarnival]

Yuya shakes his head. "No, I don't really have anything planned."

This whole trip is Yuya doing whatever looks fun in the moment, because there's way too much to experience for him to sit down and plan it. "Should I meet you at the front door in an hour?"

[pipers_son]

Good to see Yuya is as flexible as ever. Well, it takes a lot off of his shoulders, and Joker flashes a peace sign to him.

"Works for me! Then I'll see ya in a bit~." With that little bit of trouble done with, he turns to leave. Well... Squeeze through the crowds, anyway. Sometimes, he can't help but think that Gongenzaka is a little bit lucky to have all that bulk so that he can just make his way through crowds... Although, at the same time, he guesses he's also too polite to do that. Oh well.

Still, at the appointed time, Joker is right where he said he'd be, wearing a relaxed grin as he glances around.

[hippocarnival]

Yuya waves him off, before turning to return to whatever stall he was checking out before he showed up.

He'll arrive on time, at least, a little hurried from getting wrapped up in something or other. But he calls out and waves his hand high as he rounds the steps, some bag of treats dangling with his pouch off his arm.

"Joker!" He comes to a quick stop and lets out a breath. "Hey, did I make it on time?"

[pipers_son]

"Yep, just on time!" Turning to help open the door and allow Yuya in first, he laughs at the pouch that's dangling in clear view. "I see ya went and got yerself a little somethin' before gettin' here first."

It's fine. He only needs to have him taste a little bit. If he has something else to much on, that's fine.

[hippocarnival]

Yuya laughs sheepishly. "I haven't eaten any of it yet! But it looked good."

And Yuya's nothing if not incredibly impulsive with his spending money right now. Isn't that what vacation's for?

He walks inside, then turns on his heels with the expectation he'll be following Joker from here.

[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?"

[pipers_son]

At least Joker shows enough familiarity with a kitchen as he moves around the counter himself into the little cooking space, nodding gratefully to the actual hired cook that's back there. After all, it's really a favor that they're letting him do this at all.

"Oh, I'm surprised ya haven't noticed, although I guess we haven't had a lotta time ta do things like this." He takes out the required tools, ears flicking as he does so. "But yeah, a fair bit. I was the one who used ta feed my family the most, before I joined the carnival. Well, when we had food ta eat in the first place. Eventually our own circus got enough folks in it that we didn't have to worry about doin' it ourselves, since we were busy runnin' things."

[hippocarnival]

"I don't think I've seen you around the cookhouse..." At least, not behind the counter. He realizes he doesn't know Joker very well at all. It's not a problem, but it makes him pause briefly as he considers Joker's offhanded comment.

He remembers him mentioning the circus from home, though. Yuya nods once. "So you were the oldest?"

Or one of the oldest, anyway. Yuya's pretty sure that's how it goes, but he's an only child.

[pipers_son]

"Ha ha, I used ta do it a lot more when I first joined, before I became a supervisor." He was really restless back then, although it didn't help that he didn't feel entirely anchored- not to the carnival, not to a goal. It felt a lot better, before it all went to shit, when he finally realized he wasn't just going through some sort of strange purgatory or before-death dream. If only they could live like that again instead of all of this.

He takes a pause from the conversation, counting out to make sure he has all his ingredients. Onions, beef, rice, what he's pretty sure is alcohol... A quick wipe of his hands to make sure they're clean, and he starts to slice the onions skillfully.

"And oldest by vote!" He laughs. "It was hard for any of us ta tell. None of us shared any blood, actually." An adopted family, found together in the gutters. "I actually think I'm only the third oldest, at best, but I ended up just steppin' inta the roll, and then it stuck."

[hippocarnival]

Yuya nods absently as he listens. He can pick up on the implication there--adoptive family with no idea their exact ages or birthdays, they were probably orphans.

"So... did you meet each other in the circus, or before it?" It sounds like there's quite a few of them, the way he talks about it.

[pipers_son]

Onions done, now to the next ingredient. This part of the recipe is easy; he can do it while he talks no problem.

"Before. We all grew up in the same place, out in the streets, but we ran inta each other at different times." He taps the knife against the cutting board thoughtfully. "I think I was the fourth ta join, now that I think about it... Ah!" He raises a finger. "Actually, we picked up another brother in the last year before I came ta the carnival!"