⇨ 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

[drrdrrdrr]

"Oh, yeah? Sweet." Amethyst slips away from the edge of the bath to just kind of... float on her back, with all her paws splayed out. She tilts her head, though, to look at Peridot. "Look, uh... I just wanna say, I know I keep saying how you guys should just hook up already, but..." She scratches the size of her nose awkwardly, and damply. "Uuhh. Maybe it's actually better if you don't?"

[periphrasing]

Peridot always feels sort of awkward talking about Lapis issues to begin with, but this... This throws her for a loop. She squints, a bit taken aback, and then laughs nervously. "Wow, um. What makes you say that all of a sudden?"

She isn't going to like this conversation, is she.

[drrdrrdrr]

Amethyst rolls, in the water, over onto her front, so her face is underwater, her hair floating out around her head like a jellyfish. "Uhhh," she says, and it comes out as a stream of bubbles. Then she rights herself, and scrubs her hands over her face.

"It's just... some of the stuff that happened when I was back home. She was really cruddy to you."

[periphrasing]

"Oh," Peridot says quietly, face falling briefly. That negative expression only lasts for a flicker though, before she smiles weakly; she's trying to put on a brave face, to not jump immediately to the worst conclusion. "Well. Like what? Things are different at the Carnival, maybe it won't actually matter as much as you think."

[drrdrrdrr]

Amethyst pulls a face.

"She just... left, 'cause she was scared of the Diamonds coming to Earth, and she took the whole barn with her, and you almost didn't stand up to her about how you didn't wanna go too."

[periphrasing]

She listens, a confused frown crossing her face as she tries to picture what Amethyst is talking about. Without even realizing it she's listening for something, anything that she can use to discredit what Amethyst is telling her, any detail that rings illogical enough that she can pick it apart and prove that Amethyst must have misunderstood the situation.

She can't find anything.

"That's-- No. Lapis wouldn't do that," Peridot insists, though it sounds more like she's trying to convince herself than she is Amethyst. "Even if she wanted to, I've always been able to talk her down! I would never just leave with her, that's ridiculous!"

[drrdrrdrr]

"Yeah, no," says Amethyst. "I guess this time she was really serious about it."

She pushes some damp hair out of her eyes and looks at the ceiling.

"When you told her you wanted to stay she just took off. That's what I heard about it, anyways."

[periphrasing]

"I..." Peridot starts weakly, but any words following that just die in her throat. She falters, and then slumps deeper into the water, submerging up to her chin.

"I'm not sure what you expect me to do with this information," she says finally, after a lengthy pause. She sounds... annoyed. Defensive, even.

Welcome to the five stages of grief, with your host, Peridot!

[drrdrrdrr]

Amethyst's face falls. Not that she looked happy before, but she goes from serious and subdued to actively upset.

"I just -- I mean -- it got you really messed up, Per, I..." She gestures weakly with one hand, and then closes it into a fist and drops it into the water, looking away again. "I didn't want you to have to go through that."

[periphrasing]

"Sure, that's great, but I don't even know if Lapis knows about any of that! Or if she'd still do that here!" Peridot snaps, gesturing wildly with one hand by jerking it up out of the bath, sending droplets of water flying. She knows she shouldn't be getting mad at Amethyst. She knows this isn't her fault. But it's hard to be grateful about good intentions when you've just received shitty news that is this degree of upsetting.

[drrdrrdrr]

"I know!" says Amethyst. "Look, I know stuff's not the same here, but -- she's not like a totally different person, y'know?" She slaps her tail against the water. "And you're still totally a huge wuss about ever upsetting her here, too!"

[periphrasing]

Peridot recoils slightly, a look of outrage passing over her features. "I am not a wuss about ANYTHING!" she snaps, bristling defensively. "Lapis didn't sign up for this life like you and I did, and you KNOW how she hates feeling trapped! All I'm doing is trying to avoid adding to that stress wherever possible!"

[drrdrrdrr]

"Yeah, by being a total doormat and going along with literally everything she says," says Amethyst, spreading out her arms for emphasis. "The only reason you didn't leave Earth with her is because Steven got you to admit you didn't wanna go. You would have just gone and been miserable in space and never seen any of us ever again because you didn't want to make her upset!"

[periphrasing]

"What?" Peridot's eyes widen, ears twitching back slightly. She's offended, but it's also pretty clear that Amethyst's words are resonating with her in a way that's really uncomfortable. "That-- That's absolutely ludicrous, I would never-- I wouldn't!" she splutters, desperate for it to feel true.

[drrdrrdrr]

Amethyst slumps back against the edge of the bath. "Per, c'mon... I'm not saying that's cruddy of you or anything, I know it's just 'cause you care about her a ton. It just... sucks." She rubs her temple with one wet hand. "I kind of didn't realise before, 'cause I hadn't figured out how bad it could get, but... even if you don't think she's just gonna up and leave on you, you guys probably shouldn't date until you... figure that stuff out, y'know?"

[periphrasing]

Peridot hears what she's saying, but it's hard to tell if she's actually listening. While Amethyst is talking, she shifts back into something akin to the fetal position, drawing her knees up and sinking deep into the water.

"I--" she rasps, and trails off for a second. "I think I need to be alone for a bit. So I can process this data."

In other words: Please Leave.

[drrdrrdrr]

"... Oh," says Amethyst. "I -- yeah. Okay. Right." She hauls herself onto the edge of the bath. "Peridot..."

[periphrasing]

Wordlessly, Peridot sinks down further and disappears below the surface of the water completely. Some bubbles come up.

[drrdrrdrr]

Amethyst slumps forward. Then she pushes herself up.

"... I'm sorry, Per," she says, and leaves the baths.