⇨ 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

[periphrasing]

Well. He's not ENTIRELY off the mark with that guess. Peridot just grumbles incoherently into the water, and slowly starts to sink below the surface. Eventually she rights herself and resurfaces, huddling back against the edge of the bath with her knees drawn up, still mostly submerged.

"I sent Pumpkin and Fleshy back home," she mumbles finally, firmly avoiding eye contact. She can't bring herself to get to the real meat of the issue just yet.

[starseedling]

"...Wuh?" Steven asks, because he didn't even know you could do that. In fact, that's the foremost detail that is on his mind. "You can do that?"

It doesn't make any sense. Why would you send Pumpkin and Fleshy, and alien with no connection to Earth, back by themselves? He's pretty sure this isn't the whole story, so he just waits for further clarification.

[periphrasing]

"Lapis went with them," she continues quietly, ignoring his question.

[starseedling]

Steven stares at her, and then looks awesome. He idly kicks his feet in the water, unusual quiet in his response.

"Well, that was a backwards way of saying that," he says, sounding a little numb.

[periphrasing]

"Yes. Well." Peridot curls her tail around her feet, still glancing away, still being uncharacteristically quiet. "That's probably because I basically had her sent home on purpose, and I wasn't sure how to approach you with that information or break the news to you, because I still feel incredibly conflicted and upset about my actions."

You know. Just an educated guess.

[starseedling]

"Whuh...?" Steven asks, looking completely confused. There are a lot of questions here. "I didn't... even know you could do that. I thought you weren't allowed to have people sent home?"

If he could have done that, he would have gotten Greg sent home right away, before all that dumb stuff happened.

[periphrasing]

"You can't, normally. But my contract needed to be renewed, and I'm in pretty good standing with the Ringmaster, so, I did. And now I feel terrible."

She can't bring herself to look at him.

[starseedling]

Does he need to ask her why? Lapis hated it here, the whole time she was present. Things only sort of starting turning around recently, but even so... she felt so trapped.

"What did Lapis say?" he asks.

[periphrasing]

"Nothing." When she says that, her fingers tighten into the fabric of the knees of her slacks, and she keeps staring sullenly into the middle distance.

[starseedling]

Steven still isn't getting it, and it's clear on his face.

"Was... Was she mad?" he asks, interpretting that as 'sullenly silent' and not 'wasn't there to say anything.'

[periphrasing]

Peridot exhales in annoyance. The silence drags for a few long moments, but she lifts her head a bit so that her face isn't totally obscured by her knees when she finally grumbles: "I don't know. I suppose I'll find out whenever I make it home next, because I didn't ask for her input on the matter."

[starseedling]

"You... What?" he asks in complete bewilderment. Now he gets it, though it takes a second to sink in. "Peridot!"

[periphrasing]

There it is. Peridot flinches when he says her name, ears twitching back anxiously as she retreats back behind her knees.

"Amethyst told me that she leaves. After you get back from Homeworld, she gets scared of the Diamonds, and then she takes the barn, and all our stuff, and she takes off into space and leaves me and Pumpkin behind. I didn't want to spend an INDEFINITE period of time, wondering when she was going to turn around and do the same thing to me here," she splutters defensively, still refusing to look at him. Her tone is higher pitched than normal, strained to the point where it sounds like it might break.

[starseedling]

He doesn't want to be hard on her, he isn't well suited to it. Yet, as upsetting as it is to hear what Lapis was doing back home...

"But..." he says, his voice becoming softer and sadder at the thought. "You didn't even give her the choice to leave."

[periphrasing]

"I... I didn't need to ask, I already knew what her answer would have been!" she insists, unfurling a bit to steady herself with one hand against the edge of the bath. Panic is starting to slip in and force out the sadness. Part of her knows she made a terrible decision, but she can't allow herself to admit that for a variety of reasons. Not the least of which being, to do so would make her own hurt and betrayal over what Lapis did feel completely invalid.