lostcarnival | ⇨ ATLANTIS

Who: Everyone!
When: The morning of D44 and onward.
Where: The ocean realm of Atlantis.
What: The carnival abruptly arrives at an underwater realm, and everyone is transfigured into merpeople just as suddenly.
Warnings: Body horror, I guess.

THE CITY OF ATLANTIS↴

The visit starts without much warning, but at least there is a full week of free time before performances start. In the meantime, your characters will be given ample opportunity to adjust their acts for an underwater audience, get used to their new fishy appendages, or just spend the whole time enjoying the sights and sounds of Atlantis city. King Triton will not be immediately seen, but it's possible to gain an audience with him if you get in contact with the ambassadors of the kingdom. Just, make sure that you're not wasting his time. He's a lot less patient with nonsense than the Ringmaster is.

► FISH FRIDAY: You fell asleep, whether or not that's something you usually do, and the next morning you wake up as one of the merfolk. A few last additions may grow in after you're awake, but for the most part everyone will have a method of swimming and a method of breathing underwater transfigured into them upon waking. Don't worry about your belongings - everything is waterproofed, and technology will work the same underwater as it does above it. That doesn't mean there won't be plenty to get used to, though.

► GREAT BLUE YONDER: The ocean realm where Atlantis resides is enormous, and the depths seem to be unending. Despite the fact that there doesn't seem to be any surface, sun glimmers all the way down to the ocean floor. Atlanteans use creatures like whales and dolphins as rides and beasts of burden, and they can be seen swimming in and out of the city as constantly as roadways filed with cars in earth civilization. Beyond that, there's everything you would expect to see on the ocean floor here - huge reefs of coral, both familiar and exotic, enormous ocean plants, deep ocean trenches, and all kinds of weird critters living in them. There are a mix of mythical and standard ocean creatures, and are likely a combined populations of many oceans worth of beings.

► THE ATLANTEAN MARKET: The Atlantean market (aka the "merket") is a long trench between rows of buildings in the middle of the city, lit with bio-luminescent plants and rocks, and filled with all kinds of weird mer stuff that you can buy. There are a great many individual booths, mostly with hand crafted wares and objects that have been salvaged from various sunken ships. The Ringmaster has already traded a large number of goods to the merfolk here, and has taken the profit to award each worker with 100 Atlantean Gold to spend as they please. One gold is worth roughly five USA dollars, for a comparison of how much that is. There is a top level set up below in which characters can make their purchases, and you can also handwave the purchase of random common, necessary items (food, drink, etc) at your convenience.

► TREASURE HUNTING: Right now, the only major salvage areas are a few left over sunken ships that have mostly been picked over by the merfolk. However, you are welcome to head over to them and explore, and see if fortune smiles on you when it comes to finding anything that hasn't been taken yet. The current options are three similar looking brigantine that all probably came from the same world. Merfolk do not seem to consider them to be anything extraordinary, though magical items and gold have allegedly been found within them. Whether or not anything is left, is the real question.

► LIMELIGHTING: Merfolk are curious and generally socially forward, as a species. This mean that they find the carnival's workers to be a fascinating novelty, and also are unafraid to make that fascination obvious. Given the opportunity, merfolk will demand your character's attention for bombardments of questions and for general socializing, especially if they are particularly unusual for some reason. Don't be surprised if you get invited to stay at total stranger's houses, or dragged off to a merfolk bar to surprise party with their friends. They'll let you say no, reluctantly, but they will also be pleased as punch to get up in your gill.

It's also possible to make some money, this way, if you're willing to do street performances, or are willing to sell your "skills" in a more private environment. Yes, there are opportunities to become a fish hooker if you are so inclined. Merfolk may also offer money to take you as arm candy to various public events, escort style. They don't consider this to be a particularly socially inappropriate thing to do, either.

You can ask general questions about this setting over on the event post. There are top levels below for buying Atlantean merch, and also for making dolla dolla, if your character is inclined to try.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Hooboy. And he thought he took change badly. His first change had been a fright sure, and...well. Being a fish was another matter, but it sort of made sense if he thought about it (and didn't put too much thought into having magic ALL. OVER HIM.

Anyway.] ..........Sherlock, are you awake...........

[If Sherlock isn't going to move, then he'll just be coming in and seeing what the state of the trailer is. There's always SOMETHING to clean up, even after 15 minutes of leaving it alone in Sherlock's hands, after all...]

[There's still no answer. He's not moving one bit, except for the tremor in his webbed hands.

The trailer's a mess from his thrashing around, but at least it wasn't on purpose this time. Things are upended and bits and bobs are floating Beverly which way. It would be funny if it were not for the clearly-suffering detective in the corner.]

[Eugh....well fine then. For this moment, he's going to focus on cleaning. He'll tidy a few up-ended objects, fix the table while he's at it, oh and...

Poke the suffering detective, figuratively speaking of course. He's not literally poking you.

That would be cruel. He will, however, lean over with his now completely 'furred' face.] .......Sherlock. Do you need me to call for Zecora?

[Completely blue eyes look over him as he's tidying up. They're completely blue, so it's a little hard to tell which way he's looking, but one can assume such.]

[Zecora? Ah. No, completely not necessary. Sherlock looks up at Gon's face.]

Just...give me a few minutes.

[The detective did not at all sound like himself. More like, he was struggling to keep some sort of emotion locked up inside. Come on, Sherlock, it's okay to say you're scared. He actually could swim, being on the surface didn't bother him as much, but surrounded by water and trapped in a small area? Yeah, that wasn't good. Obviously he wasn't drowning, but his mind needed to catch up to his body's relative ease with the surroundings.]

[No, her certainly doesn't sound like himself at all. He's only known the other a matter of weeks, but it's concerning all the same. The shrimp-thing trots over, a worried expression on his face as he peers to his trailermate.] ...How many minutes have you had as it is? [he asks rather softly, one of his ears flicking. This is not a matter of impatience, but....rather questioning just how much you're actually adapting over time.]

[A slightly pained look.]

Several.

[Gon's appearance seems to shake him out of his reverie a bit, and his curiosity outweighs his fear. What was he even...?]

What...what exactly happened?

[Sherlock deduced the obvious, but he'd like to hear a confirmation of his theories.]

[Ah. Well, he's speaking a little more now, so he'll just do his best to keep Sherlock going. It might end badly in the end-but if it means the man doesn't end up comatose or shellshocked or something it's probably worth it.

Probably.

He puts down a pan that managed to fall from the kitchen, before coming near.] We seem to have moved underwater...for the sake of the entire carnival, everyone appears to have been made to adapt through other changes as a result, even the animals.

...Most likely, it'll reverse when we leave. [........He...He hopes at least.]

[Hypothesis confirmed, then. Despite everything, his curiosity was starting to get the better of him. Everyone, even the animals? The entire Carnival underwater.

Fascinating.]

And...and what exactly is all...that?

[He pointed a webbed finger at Gon's shrimpy lower half.]

[EVEN THE ANIMALS

Steven's Lion is now a merlion. In any case.] That would be my own change...which appears to be some sort of 'shrimp'.

[A Mantis Shrimp, much as he kept his forelegs rather than getting the clubs or 'spears' of the actual creature. So don't make a joke, you'll find out what kind of 'shrimp' those guys are.]

[Despite looking like he was traumatized a moment earlier, he started snickering, like a jerk.]

A shrimp!?

[That was fantastic. He wasn't feeling so bad about his own changes now, after all. Or even being stuck underwater. There were people with shrimp-butts out here.]

[There he is, the biggest douche in the ~~universe~~ ocean...

Well, now he'll just frown.] That is correct, though admittedly of a variety I, the man Gongenzaka, do not recognize. It has made transport adaptation somewhat difficult, but seems more effective than a typical sea-creature would have been for myself, at the least...

[He was, after all, meant more for a 'quadruped' state...

This is probably as close as he could get on the ocean floor.]

[A long pause.

Then a snort.]

You're a shrimp!

[Well, guess he's somewhat over his meltdown. Thank you Gon. You did very well.]

[SHERRRRRRRLOOOOOOOOCK.]

...I, the man Gongenzaka, suggest you choose your next words wisely.

[He got a deadpan stare back.]

You mean the words that say, 'I find it hilariously ironic'?

..................................Be warned, for there are words that I, the man Gongenzaka, could say about you.........

[A SHARK, HUH....]

Words, hmm? Let's see just what sorts of words you have for me. Go on.

[Wow, he's like totally at ease in the water now. You did great, Gon!]

MFG-Y-

You don't ask someone to begin openly insulting you!! [NO YOU CAN'T CALL HIM OUT ON HIS HONOR BLUFF, YOU CAN'T!!

He has the insults, really.

But saying them?! NO, HE CAN'T-]

Why not? I want to hear what you have to say.

[A growing smile.]

MMMMMMNNNHHHH-

[WHY THIS...] If you so insist, then I, the man Gongenzaka, could draw numerous parallels between sharks and their penchant for corpses..!

But to lower myself to such petty standards would be unforgivable...!!

[...even though he arguably just lowered himself just to finish this argument. Oop.]

⇨ ATLANTIS

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