⇨ 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

[atouts]

"Marriage hasn't stopped you from making eyes at Ignatius, Mr. Strange," Childermass mocks in return. He knows he's being jealous, he can't help it like this! But he's also fully capable of being a dick right back.

"And what about that nice bicorn lady, hmm?" Well, that one's unfair since it was, again, curse-breaking, but shhh. "Though no, you are right. Lambert wouldn't run off like that, anyhow."

[kingsroads]

"I don't make eyes at him," Strange responds. "As you said, I've got a wife."

Says the person who kind of is making eyes at Ignatius or, at least, has a bromance so intense that it could easily be mistaken for a big ol'crush. "And besides, that nice bicorn lady kissed me." Wait a minute. "The second time we kissed she kissed me. The first time was curse-breaking, so it doesn't count."

Jonathan Strange: unintentional slut.

[atouts]

"You do," Childermass disagrees but at least getting his turn at poking fun here is getting a smirk out of him. That's a lot better than boring old grumpiness. "Every time you talk about him, you sound exactly the same way as when you speak of your wife."

Where's the lie? Well, that might be a slight exaggeration, but close enough. It's not as if Strange knows how he sounds to other people.

"And you're just lucky that she and LeFlamme were clearly a thing. Who knows, she may have followed you otherwise."

[kingsroads]

"If that's the case, I might as well ask Ignatius to be my husband. A wife in England, a husband in Faerie, I'm certain there's some arcane fae law that allows it. Besides, we both know there have been worse rumors spread about me!"

He's joking: Strange knows full well that neither Ignatius nor Arabella would consent to such an arrangement (and what Arabella says, Strange will do). He's matching Childermass's smirk with one of his own as he gives the man a little shrug.

No comment on that LeFlamme thing, mostly because Strange, in all his selective obliviousness, didn't exactly realize that.

[atouts]

"Perhaps it's a rumor I'll spread myself, if only to distract from the large angry man following me all over England," Childermass says with an amused huff. Yes, he knows Strange is joking. Arabella would yell him out of the universe herself if he weren't.

[kingsroads]

"Be careful. Eventually they might want me to summon my faerie husband to prove the point." And though Strange loves Ignatius and views him as a true friend...he also kind of wants the Summer Court to ignore England as long as possible.

He's certain one of the new magicians is going to try and summon a faerie at some point. Just let them have a few months of quiet before it happens.

[atouts]

"Well, the roads into Faerie are all open again," Childermass points out. He doesn't know if he ever told Strange that, how England is already changing. "You'd less have to summon than send him a letter by mail, I imagine, provided you know which one to take."

[kingsroads]

"Bell would murder me if I ever stepped foot on the roads again!" says the man who will inevitably step foot on the king's roads again and straight up did step foot on the king's roads plenty of times after Arabella died.

"Besides, summoning is much more dramatic. I've a reputation to uphold, after all."

[atouts]

"Do you? And here I thought your reputation was to be a madman," Childermass scoffs. Although, at this point, he slows to a stop and looks around them. "Were you going somewhere?"

[kingsroads]

"Originally I was going to go back to my room." But this is fun Childermass and Strange is not letting this slip past him. Oh no, he's taking full advantage of this.

"But now? I think I might go for a drink. Care to join me?"

[atouts]

Childermass would have surely mocked him if he had kept on going to his room. To sulk, one might assume. Strange changing his mind, however, has the other magician considering. He should get back to keeping an eye on Lambert but...

"I don't see why not. I could do with a few myself."

He probably has an hour or two left to kill, right?

[kingsroads]

"Good," Strange responds, with a grin. Can he get Childermass drunk? He doesn't know, but that's the new goal.

"I know a place near here. Follow me and I'll pay for the first round." And, with a gesture for Childermass to follow him, Strange starts walking in the vague direction of the bar.

[atouts]

Strange is going to soon run afoul of Childermass's favorite souvenir from Atlantis if he tries that but he's welcome to try. He nods to Strange as he mentions he knows a place and trails along after as he heads off.

"They have this drink made from rice here," he says conversationally as they go. "Have you tried that yet?"

[kingsroads]

"I haven't," Strange admits. "So the first round will be that."

He doesn't let the conversation pause for long, though. Childermass is chatty and Childermass is more loose-lipped than he's ever been. Strange is going to take the opportunity to press the man and try to tease out information about the one thing he's most tight-lipped on: Childermass himself.

"How have you been, by the way? That whole Eden business was...certainly something. Recovered fully yet?"

[atouts]

"Not at all," Childermass says cheerfully enough. "I can move around, though, so I've decided that's good enough."

AKA he should really still be resting and yet here he is. It's just most of the damage is luckily hidden beneath his clothes, so who's to tell anything is wrong apart from him having to walk slowly and stop to rest often?

[kingsroads]

And Strange can't help but laugh at that, mostly because he's done the exact same thing. What do you mean he should be resting after a traumatic experience, that sounds dumb.

"Be careful. The moment certain carnival members find out you're not fully recovered, they'll drag you back to the medical bay. I won't, of course, but the possibility remains."

[atouts]

"Hard to do that when I can vanish into any shadow," Childermass says with a quiet laugh. "The other side of me may have the greater share of magic but I'm not entirely inept."

[kingsroads]

"It is a useful trick, isn't it. Lord knows there've been plenty of times I've escaped from unwanted situations with my reflections."

Like jail. And the medical wing. And like so many awful conversations, it's just great when you can peace out of things.

[atouts]

"Though reflections are a bit limited compared to shadows, don't you think," Childermass says, not really as a question. He mostly wants to point out shadows are better since that's something this side of him is more than happy to boast about.

[kingsroads]

"I'd prefer something more powerful over something more limitless. After all, it's not the Silver Set of Shadows, is it."

What lucking out and having a powerful fae object fit your aesthetic means, Strange isn't entirely sure. But it's got to mean something, ergo reflections are better than shadows (somehow.)

[atouts]

"You mean the Silver Mirror That You Should Never Again Touch? Oh yes, very useful to you, that."

Honestly, the Mirror just seems like an incredibly bad idea altogether. Consider the current predicament, one which Childermass is pretty certain involves that exact same artifact.

[kingsroads]

He probably should tell Childermass about how the Mirror changed him...hell, might as well do it now, with this Childermass who's less likely to give him shit or get into a fight with than the full Childermass.

"The Silver Mirror That It Doesn't Really Matter If I Touch Or Not Because It's Already Changed Me." There's a small little pause before Strange continues. "It's changed my magic as well as my physical being. I've got mirrors on the inside now."

He has no idea how to describe it except that.

[atouts]

A whole Childermass would no doubt admonish him over it or, at the very least, sigh. A lot. Since he expects this kind of bullshit from Strange regardless of what he does at this point. This one? He just laughs.

"Do you now?" And he'll actually go as far as to speed up a step or two so he's alongside the other magician rather than trailing behind, just so he can smack him on the arm and listen for a crack. It isn't very hard so it's probably fine, though. "So when I finally snap and decide to shake you until you're sensible again, do I have to worry about bad luck?"

Forget the magic part, he'd rather poke fun at all of his shitty inside mirrors.

[kingsroads]

As Childermass smacks him on the arm, Strange rolls his eyes in a joking sort of manner. "I'd expect things more along the line of internal bleeding instead of bad luck," Strange teases in response. "Thankfully, any broken shards fall out when I turn to smoke."

He's got plenty of theories as to why that happens: something about the magic of his smoke form and foreign bodies—if he was shot with an arrow, would turning into smoke loose it as well?

[atouts]

"So how many fell out when Lambert put a fist through your face?" Childermass asks cheerfully. Oh yes, he knows. Certain polecats like to tattle.