⇨ 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

[kingsroads]

"I have faith he won't incinerate us. Too many people have been kind to him already—I don't think he expected that."

When they first talked, Ignatius believed that his position was deserved, that it was only fair the carnival responded in kind to how the Summer Court treated them. Well, considering that he was allowed to go to Eden, that Yuya agreed to advocate for him, and while they were in Eden, carnival members rescued him from near dying, Strange has faith that when he gets his heart back, Ignatius won't flash-fry everyone on sight.

"What would you rather we do? Keep him like this forever? The longer he remains here, the angrier the Summer Court gets. Or perhaps you think we should kill him."

He's deliberately keeping his voice level, but the tenseness in Strange's tone is unmistakable.

[anti_nonsense]

"I don't know! I know we won't keep him here forever. But there's got to be more options between now and forever." Rita's hands curl up into tightened fists and she tries to steady her breath.

"I don't... want to kill him," she admits through gritted teeth. "Not as much as I used to, anyway. But I can't have faith in him like that. That's just stupid."

[kingsroads]

"Then I guess that makes me an idiot," he says, without any real bite. If anything, Strange's tone is tired. He doesn't need to reiterate that he's got faith in Ignatius and he trusts the fae: in Strange's mind, it's pretty obvious.

Strange makes one more attempt to try and explain himself. Though he's keeping his words level, he's not hiding his tone of voice: he doesn't think this will accomplish much.

"I'm certain there are more options between now and forever. But I'm also certain that the carnival will run into even more trouble before we find those options. Ignatius almost died in Eden. I saw his wounds from the iron, I was watching when West operated—" Strange cuts himself off there to take a breath, knowing full well that if he keeps continuing on, he's more likely to get emotional. When he speaks again, he's looking over, trying to make eye contact with Rita. "I don't want that to happen to him again."

[anti_nonsense]

Rita shakes her head. Even in this overly emotional half of herself, there isn't a single part of Rita that's particularly bothered about Ignatius getting hurt. "He shouldn't have been there in the first place. And he wouldn't have been, if you weren't making deals with him behind our backs. Which..." Her breath catches in her throat. This is where she'd normally get worked up and angry, but she continues without raising her voice, though it sounds increasingly strained. "Even though I was afraid you'd do something like that... I wanted to trust you."

That's why she asked him to record his meeting; to give him a chance to prove he could be trusted around Ignatius. As far as Rita's concerned, he ended up proving the opposite.

[kingsroads]

"I told Ignatius that I'd ask the Ringmaster, but I honestly didn't think she'd agree to bring him along in the first place." If he knew that the Ringmaster would say yes to Ignatius coming along, would he have done all of this differently? Strange doesn't really know.

Rita's comment about trusting him causes Strange to look back away from her, vaguely out in the middle of nowhere again.

"I thought that none of you trusted me to begin with," Strange admits. He still kind of thinks that, but that's not the point. "Even if no one in the carnival trusted me, if I went to Ignatius and talked to him by myself, without cameras or the Ringmaster or anyone else around, then maybe he would."

[anti_nonsense]

"So you thought earning his trust was more important than keeping ours." As accusatory as the statement is, there's no bite in her tone. Rita sounds disappointed, more than anything.

"I did trust you, you know. I didn't always agree with you, but I was sure you'd come through for me when it counted. I still want to think that, even though..." Even though she already feels betrayed.

[kingsroads]

"You have a funny way of showing you trust me." Strange isn't even bothering to hide the bitterness in his voice as he talks.

"I'll always come through for you." He's more resigned to that than anything else. He'll try and help Rita and work with her, even though a part of Strange worries she won't do the same for him.

"But as far as I could tell, I lost the trust of most of the carnival the moment I suggested that Ignatius wasn't the monster everyone wanted him to be."

[anti_nonsense]

Rita stiffens slightly at being told he'll come through for her. She wants to believe him... and in most cases, she's sure he would. But what if her needs were at odds with Ignatius's?

"I know he isn't everything I thought he is," she admits. "But everything I experienced, everything I saw him do to others... it still happened. But it feels like you don't care about that. Like this whole other childhood I lived is just an outlier, an inconvenient fact to be dismissed before drawing a conclusion."

[kingsroads]

"I do care about it. But considering what the other Jonathan Strange did, I can't throw stones. You all do not judge me by my actions in Portland. The least I can do is offer him the same courtesy."

Strange is still a little bit baffled that a lot of the carnival is perfectly fine overlooking his stint of forcing people into binding contracts and also attempted child kidnapping.

[anti_nonsense]

"If you care, then why do you change the subject whenever I bring it up?" Rita turns to face him with a red-faced, incredulous look.

"What you did in Portland and what he did there are two different things. Yeah, you were both terrible people, and you deserve some blame for that. But if you understand that, then why do you defend him? He doesn't even have the same excuse that you do, that you were changed into some alternate version of yourself... He's the exact same person he's always been!"

[kingsroads]

"That's ridiculous," Strange mutters, still desperately trying to keep his cool. "The spell affected that entire world. The fae must have been changed like we were."

He thinks. But then again, Rita wouldn't say something like that without any proof, would she. The tips of his hair start to burn brighter as Strange slips into a more methodical, calm-yourself-down style of breathing.

[anti_nonsense]

For a few moments, Rita's at a loss for words. He's really determined to believe that he and Ignatius are alike. She can't understand it.

Finally, she spits it out. "They weren't."

The last time this came up, the two of them had only conjecture to argue with, but this time...

"They were trapped like we were... but they were still themselves. You can ask Ignatius if you don't believe me. He's a lot of things, but he isn't a liar." Neither is Rita, but she's used to being doubted.

[kingsroads]

"What do you want me to do about this?" There's a pleading tone in Strange's voice because he knows what his answer is, he knows Rita's going to hate it, and he doesn't know how to balance these two extremes. "Obviously what he did is...is beyond the pale. But he's still my friend."

Strange can feel so many excuses rising up in his throat. He was different then. Things happen in war that one has to overlook or forgive. It's not like he treated his changelings like the Rose Queen, after all. But he bites them all down as he gives Rita a genuinely torn frown.

"And he will remain my friend. What Ignatius needs the most is someone on his side, and I want to be that person."

[anti_nonsense]

There's a look of surprise and uncertainty at that change in tone. Rita didn't expect him to relent, and through all of this, she'd become somewhat convinced that he really didn't care what she thinks. If he's asking, then hopefully it's because he wants an answer.

"I wish you wouldn't, for starters..." she begins in a mumble. "But..."

She can't just leave it at that. Maybe this is a chance to find some common ground, a compromise, something to make their future as friends and coworkers somewhat bearable for the both of them...

"I... I don't want to fight anymore. I'm sick of it. But I can't just back down when it comes to him. I can't forgive him, not easily, and certainly not because you think I should. So... I want you to stop making excuses for him. Treat his past actions with the gravity they ought to have. Understand that he's our enemy, and people are right to be wary of him. The harder you push, the more you try to force people to accept him, the more they'll just resent you and him."

[kingsroads]

When he speaks, Strange's voice is a little cautious, like he expects all of this to fall apart and them to start fighting again at any moment.

"Then may I ask something of you in return?" And before Rita can answer, Strange just keeps talking. "You do not have to like my friendship with Ignatius, but I wish you would at least accept it. Just as people have reasons to be wary of him, they also have reasons to trust or care about him. I'm tired of being chastised simply because I choose to do so."

He wants to be friends with Rita. And he's sick and tired of fighting as well. But if solving the fighting means that Strange has to hear more speeches about why Ignatius is awful and why he's an idiot for trusting him, Strange isn't entirely sure if it's worth it.

[anti_nonsense]

Rita bites her lip, mulling over the request. It's not easy for her to accept it, and as far as she's concerned, he doesn't have a good reason to trust or care about Ignatius. It hurts to think of a friend cozying up to her former captor, too...

But if she wants this conflict between them to end... or to at least have some quiet moments, then...

"Fine," she concedes, hesitant. "I'll try."

[kingsroads]

Strange can't help but smile: it's obvious that he's happy about Rita's answer and damn relieved about this whole matter.

"Then I'll try to stop making excuses for him." Jury's out on whether he'll succeed but Strange can at least make an attempt. There's a small pause before Strange starts talking again. As he talks, he tentatively reaches out towards Rita again and tries to place a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"You're one of the most talented magicians in the carnival. Aside from that, you're a bright, smart young woman. I wouldn't want our friendship to end based on this one thing." Even though it's a pretty big one thing.

[anti_nonsense]

"I, um..."

Rita's not sure how to respond to all that. She feels a hint of wetness in her eyes, and quickly rubs it away. She can't seem to find any words to respond, and seems to struggle before coming up with a somewhat weak, "...y-yeah. Me neither."

Because in the end, Rita does care about what Strange thinks of her, and about their friendship, more than she'd want to admit out loud.

[kingsroads]

Strange knows he's going to be the one to vocalize their feelings. That's what you get when you're the only one of your close friends who's the least emotionally stunted. Still, he thinks he knows what Rita's trying to say. He gives her shoulder a small little squeeze.

"You know, I think our toenails should be dry by now if you want to do something else."

[anti_nonsense]

Rita doesn't quite react to the comforting squeeze of his hand, but the fact that she hasn't bothered shoving it away is probably a good sign.

At his words, she looks around the room, as if suddenly remembering where they are. "Yeah... right." She sucks in a breath, still recovering from the rollercoaster of emotions she just went through, and hops out of the chair. She turns to where she left her sandals... and pauses. They're not there. It takes a moment to recall why that is.

"Hey..." Her voice is still a bit less steady than it normally is. "Didn't something, like... really weird happen, a few minutes ago?"

[kingsroads]

"Hmm?" And then, it hits Strange. Oh shit. Something really weird did happen! His expression goes from confused to shocked to downright worried.

"Oh damn. You split in two! This...well obviously this is some sort of magic. Stand back, I want to examine this."

And Strange gets to his feet, not even bothering to put his shoes on. He gets some distance away from Rita then flips on his third eye. The burn scars on his hand, forearm, and forehead light themselves on fire as he stares at her, trying to examine the magic.

[anti_nonsense]

Stand back so he can examine... what, exactly? Her?

Apparently, that's exactly what he's doing. Rita takes a step back, staring back at that fire on Strange's forehead with a wary look. It's not like she hasn't done the exact same thing to him, but it's still kind of awkward. She also can't help but worry about what all this means. Did she get enchanted without noticing? How could that be, and who could have done it?

"...Well?" she prompts him after a few seconds.

[kingsroads]

"Good news and bad news," Strange remarks, still staring at Rita like a goddamn creep. "The good news is that I recognize a thread of this magic. The bad news is that I'm having trouble placing it. Your magic looks oddly dark, like I'm wearing sunglasses."

Strange doesn't really have an explanation for this! He's simply watching Rita with a very confused frown, as if more staring and squinting will somehow help him figure out what the hell's going on and why the hell it's so weird.

[anti_nonsense]

"Dark...?"

That's weird. Rita holds up a hand in front of herself to try to examine.

"I don't understand... I don't even feel that different, except..." There's a look of realization as she tries to recall the experience. "When it happened, I remember feeling really angry... but once she appeared, that feeling just... stopped. Like she somehow took that anger and walked off with it."

[kingsroads]

"That does make sense. I was a bit surprised you didn't make fun of me already. No 'stop being an idiot' or 'what a stupid thought.'" Strange's mimicry of Rita is unnervingly well: it's still his voice, but he's got her cadence and vocal tone down pat. He's still examining her, as if creepy staring will somehow piece out what the hell's wrong.

"Do you know if this has happened to anyone else?"