⇨ 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]

"You underestimate my persistence," Strange remarks, with a wry smile. "You know me. I'll find a way to pester Lambert even if the two of you are in a separate realm entirely."

And Strange raises his drink in a mock toast in return...before drinking some and sloshing a little bit on his shirt. Whoops.

[atouts]

"I imagine you would just get yourself cursed again as an excuse to need the Ringmaster's help." Then he'd be around to pester them all over again and, let's be real, there's no doubt another faerie waiting in the wings to curse Strange. Anyway, he'll give a snort of laughter when Strange spills and ends up reaching over to try and steady his glass.

"Careful. You... are clearly drunk."

Well, obviously.

[kingsroads]

"And you're not drunk enough," Strange retorts as he sets his glass back down on the table with exaggerated care. He gives Childermass a wild, slightly sloppy grin as he continues to talk.

"I won't let myself get cursed. Honestly, none of you have any faith in me! I have—" whoa, the room's spinning a little, Strange firmly plants his elbows on the table as if that will make everything stop tilting "—I have fought in the peninsula, you know. And I was a damn good asset if I say so myself!"

Watch in amazement as Strange deploys some quality drunk logic. This line of thought makes sense in his head, okay.

[atouts]

"It's a work in progress." And as if to prove that, he'll draw back from steadying Strange and finish off his current glass. He's still a few behind, though, thanks to that necklace trick. "And no one cares about the peninsula, Strange. I am the only person in this entire realm who even knows what that is..."

Waving his now empty glass around some to enunciate that point.

"And even that isn't enough to earn any faith. You've already made it clear you don't actually respect me. You're just going to run off, do whatever you want, how dare I be in charge of you, and so on and so on."

[kingsroads]

"We both know it would be different if I was assigned to you outright," Strange reminds Childermass. He's quite grumpy, slumping down in his chair in a childish sulk.

"It's the fact that I was shoved off on you without even taking my thoughts into consideration that I'm mad." It's the fact that he's demoted. He's still a bit pissed that he got kicked off the team.

"I'm a soldier," Strange grumbles.

[atouts]

"God, this isn't the conversation I wanted to be having again," Childermass complains. He finally grabs up the bottle again, only to find it empty, to which he gives an entirely tragic look. "If you're really so useless at anything other than fighting and killing, fine. I'll throw you back to Lambert."

Not really a promise only one part of Childermass can keep but... really, dark Childermass is tired of this argument and calling for another bottle of wine instead.

[kingsroads]

Thankfully, this is a conversation that drunk Strange will likely only remember part of: he won't be able to call whole Childermass out on what he does or doesn't do.

"What else is there to do here?" Strange sighs. "Half of the places we've stopped at have ended up with us fighting something or another. Even the places that were supposed to be peaceful ended up with fighting. Remember the-" oh god, he is too drunk for this word. There's a pause before Strange struggles though, "Athenananum?"

Nailed it? "The library place. And Wismuth and Eden and all the way back to that horrible Matrix place. We're always going to fight things."

And both Lambert and the Ringmaster are too stubborn to come to that realization.

[atouts]

"Could be we have some vain hope that we may not have to fight at some point," Childermass says with a shrug. A new bottle is brought over and paid for, this time by Childermass. Now he can finally refill his glass and you'd better believe he does. "Though they might worry a man made of mirrors is too easy to kill."

Because that's a thing, Strange. It's a big thing.

"Otherwise, you're not wrong. We're supposed to have a branch for dealing with things diplomatically, too, but I can't say I've seen Mr. Joker doing much to run that, either. So we have fighting... more fighting... and thieves... and research, which you're not interested in."

[kingsroads]

Yeah, it is a big thing. And Strange knows that it's a big thing and knows that the fact that he's got some fun inside mirrors now means that logically he shouldn't be up on the frontlines...but dammit, his pride is still smarting from what he views as being demoted.

He'll take the bottle after Childermass and top off his drink, still in a slightly sulky fashion. Because he knows Childermass is right and shut uuuup stop pointing these things out to him.

"I could do diplomacy," Strange muses. "And probably a hell of a lot better than Joker, if I'm honest." Does Stockholm Syndroming a fae into liking you count as diplomacy? Strange thinks it does. "But yes, I'm not interested in research. It's a little useless: half the bloody time our main problem is something I couldn't even research to begin with."

[atouts]

"Could you?" Childermass has doubts, Strange. "Name three instances where you've used diplomacy for anything. Diplomacy that didn't end in explosions, mind you. That seems to happen an awful lot around you."

[kingsroads]

Strange is counting off on his fingers as he talks. "One, I obtained that information about the Mother of Invention from Shimmer." By getting drunk as fuck. "Two, I've built up a much closer relationship to Ignatius than any one else in the carnival." Thanks to Stockholm Syndrome. "And three...well, we all know that I am much more diplomatic than Norrell. Dealing with politicians on behalf of both of us shall count as the third example."

These are all kind of dubious examples but Strange is looking terribly smug like he gave out three amazingly perfect examples.

[atouts]

Those are actually all fair points, even if Childermass would rather not admit it. Not perfect points, obviously, but it's more than most of the carnival can manage. Even so, he still grimaces some at the thought of Strange being in charge of diplomacy.

"Much more diplomatic than Norrell until you ran off and went mad." Counterpoint. There. "And I would have to question Ignatius whether he feels that way or not. You're a bit obsessive, aren't you?"

Stalking the man you love isn't diplomatic, Strange.

[kingsroads]

"He tried to save me from the Twelve when we were in Eden," Strange pointedly reminds Childermass. "Say what you will about my actions, but that proves he cares about me at least a little."

No comment about how obsessive he is. Strange kind of realizes that

[atouts]

"Alright, so he does honestly care enough for that," Childermass admits. He'll drink to that if only to drink when having to think about Ignatius. Although, if they're speaking about Strange being diplomatic...

He lowers his glass again and just kind of looks down into it rather than at Strange.

"Or he felt he owed you. Suppose that counts enough. Do you know the Ringmaster told me he's honorable for a faerie? Trying to make me worry less about him taking off with you, afraid that he would torture you.

[kingsroads]

Strange shakes his head. Sure, it might have started off as a cycle of one helping the other so they're helped in return and so on and so forth...but he doesn't think it ended that way.

"At the end of Eden, West, Miss Frog's tadpole, and myself helped Ignatius escape that damn bear. While he was recovering, he said I acted as a comrade in arms. If he was acting just in a tit for tat sort of manner, he wouldn't say something like that."

Aka they're friends, dammit