⇨ ATLANTIS

[ringleaders]

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.

Comments

Lauren // OTA

[mylastchance]

Day 44 Fishy Friday

The day they arrive is definitely one of Lauren's worst days at the carnival. He dealt poorly with change, and waking up to find you had a weird fish tail was kind of a big change. Afterwards he'd argued with Susan and now he felt even worse than before. While Lauren doesn't generally look happy when he wanders the carnival, he also doesn't ever really look sad. Right now, he's having a hard time covering up his distress.

He's trying to figure out this swimming thing, but it's sort of hard? He thinks he's doing it right, but he's so slow. It'd be frustrating if he weren't feeling so ambivalent towards everything right now. Still he's positive someone will have something smart to say about it soon enough.

Day 45 Great Blue Yonder

The next day Susan insists on getting him out of the trailer. Susan wants to convince Lauren this place could be really interesting. Frankly Lauren barely had the energy to swim to the reef, let alone spend countless hours swimming around randomly in search of oddly colored fish. He tries to look interested, at least a little, but it's difficult. He'd never really had to fake being interested in something when he was actually bored out of his mind.

At least the coral was kind of interesting looking. He swam closer to a particularly bright looking piece of it, reaching out a hand to touch. And near immediately cuts himself on the reef and pulls his hand back with a hiss of pain. Red blood trails out into the water, as he holds his hand close to his chest.

"Yeah well... Screw you too." It seems he's cursing at the reef itself.

Day 46 The Merket

If there's one place he is actually interested in going, it's the Merket. He doesn't know what kind of stuff they sell there, but he knows at least some of it will be magical. He knows Susan thinks an escape attempt is dangerous, but he knew the Ringmaster wasn't invincible. He didn't even want to fight her, or anyone. He just wanted to go home.

So he wanders into the Merket, looking at the wares and paying special attention to anything protective or sneaky. He knows he can do this, he just has to be smart about it.

Of course as soon as he sets foot in the market people start noticing him. He's one of them, one of the carnival workers, maybe even a performer. He can hear them talking about him, they aren't even trying to be quiet. Someone touches his elbow to get his attention, and he turns around startled, wondering if he should have brought his staff. She and her three friends just want to talk to him. It may be just talking to her, but to Lauren this was a fucking nightmare. And why did so many mer-people not wear tops!?

He stares at the ground, blushing furiously as he lets the woman talk at him. Maybe if he stayed silent she would get bored and just go away.

Day 45

[waitingforplayer2]

She still isn't great at the whole being-coordinated thing. Despite the feeling of flying that her fins give her, she finds herself more comfortable when she stays closer to the ocean floor. That way if she gets off course, she can nudge herself back onto it.

So she's closer to Lauren than she would be when he injures himself, and while her approach isn't fast, it's at least direct.

"Hey... are you okay?"

Day 45

[mylastchance]

He startles, not seeing her come up. He's trying to look at the cut on his hand, but the blood in the water does a good job of obscuring it. Either way, he holds his hand against his chest again as he notices Chiaki looking at it.

"Yeah... It's just a cut."

[waitingforplayer2]

She's not sure how well that'll do in salt water. Even if they're all protected somewhat by magic.

"Well... you should let Zecora look at it anyway."

[mylastchance]

He shakes his head, opening his hand to look at the cut again.

"She's so busy. If it's bad I can heal it myself."

[waitingforplayer2]

Not "I can bandage it" or "it's too small to be worth bothering." Huh.

"You have healing magic?"

[mylastchance]

He nods, closing his hand into a fist. Maybe it would stop bleeding on it's own. He'd just check it again in a bit.

"Yeah. Just for small stuff though."

fishy saturday

[wild_magic]

Lauren may only be feigning interest, but Susan really is interested - even though he was only out here the day before and explored so much, it's still super exciting to him. He can tell that Lauren isn't super into this, but he kind of hopes that if he shows him enough things that'll change... After all, Lauren likes nature and stuff, and this is just a different kind of nature, right?

When Lauren moves closer to investigate Susan is pleased, but then his brother is hurt and his eyes widen as he swims closer, a worried look on his face.

"Are you okay?"

Re: fishy saturday

[mylastchance]

He looks to Susan before glancing back to his hand. It's a bit hard to tell, but it looks small. Probably just a bleeder.

"Yeah. It's fine." He closes his hand, trying to stop the flow of blood. Can wounds even scab up down here?

[wild_magic]

"...Okay. If you're sure." Lauren could just heal it if it was a problem, so he knows he shouldn't worry... He just doesn't want this to make Lauren enjoy this even less than he already was.

"We could look at something else, if you want. Or more weird underwater plants still? I know where there's others... I don't know if they cut you when you touch them though, I didn't try."

[mylastchance]

He sighs, looking from his hand back to Susan. He knows his brother is just trying to make him feel better. Still, Lauren just can't seem to cheer up. He nods, at least agreeing to go look at other things.

"I'll just, not touch them from now on."

[wild_magic]

"Okay, then let's go!" He reaches for Lauren's hand to try and start tugging him around, towards some other cool looking coral or something. Too bad he can't swim very quickly like this...

[mylastchance]

Lauren isn't much better off though. At least they can basically move at the same pace, even if the pace is slow.

"Fluff isn't bored staying home all day?" he asks, looking around at the sea as they move.

46

[insidescoop]

[She has no idea what sort of predicament Lauren is dealing with, and likely wouldn't have guessed even just listening in on the conversation. At the moment, Carly is a jellyfish-not her 'mer' self, but rather a tiny, glowing, jellyfish, swimming about through the merket to better slip through the crowds. She only somewhat recognizes Lauren, really, but given how Lauren gets in a crowd compared to these lot...well, he does stand out a little bit. Just a little.

All she intends to do is say hi, really. Maybe ask about that coffee they've yet to have, or how he's been (she hasn't seen him for a little bit), or...]

wwWWWFFFOOOFF-

[The various mer startle backward as the tiny jellyfish that had been floating in rather abruptly shifts shape, ballooning canopy of a 'hood' covering the area. Rather unintentionally, while most of the others scattered, one or two are caught in the mix though...which means they're under a hood of black and orange, almost directly beside Carly herself.]

Ah-! [She looks left, looks right.] W-Where did they all go..!!

46

[mylastchance]

He's startled at first, but soon realizes it's Carly. He holds his breath as her jelly fish mer-form pushes the others away, instantly feeling relieved. He grabs her arm, holding it tight.

"Don't go."

[fortuneglass]

...Eh?

[...This is very odd, to say the least. She was set to shout and beam, and laugh-'there you are!' She was ready to compliment the other's appearance as well (It looks cool!), maybe thread that into...something.

Something. Instead as he grabs her arm, she feels her face and then a good portion of her 'canopy' brightening in their glow, the orange practically creating some sort of internal lamp to the scene rather than the cover of darkness there should be.] Ah-Oh!!

O-Okay..!

...Is something wrong?

[mylastchance]

He blushes, looking away.

"I just. I don't like being crowded in like that."

[insidescoop]

Ah! I see...

[She coughs, not willing to tell him to let go of her arm just yet. Instead she looks around the dome covering them, the edges shifting with her motions. It's only somewhat connected to her-just flexible enough that if she turns her head, it doesn't throw everything off. And that is just what they need.] Hey, were you stuck like that for long then..? I had a bunch climb under my domey thing earlier...

[...................domey....thing...]

[mylastchance]

He shrugs, honestly not sure how long they'd been talking at him like that. Even if he did know, he'd be too embarrassed to say. He shouldn't be so scared of a couple people trying to have a conversation with him. And yet...

"Thanks for coming over here."

day 46

[mossbuds]

Lars was browsing the market this day as well, even though he doesn't really have any money left. But it's cool—it's just fun to browse.

That's when Lars notices Lauren. He stops in his current, leaning on one side so he can get a better look to confirm it's him.

Lars has already endured this, by now—a couple of times. While he's easy to embarrass and fluster, Lars is also a starving attention whore underneath all that anxiety, so he's learning to enjoy it—even if it's primary through nervous laughter and uneasy smiles. Not quite the smooth persona he'd hope for, but it's better than... what Lauren's clearly going through, which Las felt initially as well.

And if Lars were a better person, he would be sympathetic. He'd feel bad—maybe try to intervene right away.

But instead, having confirmed with his eyes that it's indeed Lauren, Lars just leans back, his tail coiling at the tip as some kind of weird fish approximation of crossing one's legs. He crosses his arms, watching Lauren with a smug expression, just behind the excited gaggle of mer ladies. His grin splits wider, showing his teeth as he snorts out a little laugh.

[mylastchance]

His head jerks up as he hears the laugh. Embarrassed as he is, laughter makes him feel especially anxious. His first assumption is always that someone is laughing at him, even if they aren't. Of course this time as he looks up he meets Lars' gaze and from the wide grin he's sporting Lauren knows this time he's assumed correctly. His face flushes an even brighter red, his feelings of embarrassment now magnified by feelings of angry. He has to get out of here, coming by himself was a bad idea in the first place.

"Sorry... I-I have to, um, go." He mumbles, not even moving to look at the women who are speaking with him before he turns and tries to move away. They keep blocking his path though, even when he does turn, and he can't physically move them without touching bare skin.

"I really do have to go..." He repeats, even quieter than before. Where was Susan when he needed him.

[mossbuds]

Lars knows the feeling well; he always assumes the worst of people, carrying that same fear on his shoulders wherever he goes. Maybe that's why when he sees Lauren flush shamefully and struggle to escape without success that Lars's expression falls a little, his shoulders slacking. He almost looks remorseful, or sympathetic—almost. It's a little gross just voyuering on what's basically his own personal flavor of hell. He saves face by slipping his expression into an eye-roll, giving an impatient, derrissive sigh.

He swims towards Lauren and his admirers pretty quickly, thanks to his long and powerful tail. He realizes he's throwing himself into the fray here, but he doesn't suffer as bad in the spotlight as Lauren does. And it's not altruism, really, so it's cool—it's just too annoying to watch.

"Hey," Lars cuts in, lifting his tail between Lauren and his nearest admirer in a slight curl. "He ain't interested." The women insistently giggle, and one of them softly touches Lars's tail. His face immediately flares up red, and he snaps his tail downwards. The abrupt movement gets them to stil, looking concerned. "Stop that! No, listen, he's not like that," Lars blurts thoughtlessly, even though he has no clue where he's going with it. So he follows it up in the way he thinks is the most sensitble.

"He, uhhh, like... you know, he only likes... dudes."

Aaaand, save. Lars is immediately having to suppress his laughter.

[mylastchance]

What the fuck? It's not like Lauren cares if a bunch of mermaids think he's gay, but is that really the best thing Lars could think of???? Why is he trying to help Lauren now anyway? Just seconds ago he was laughing at Lauren, and now he was trying to help. It basically didn't make any sense.

Still, he wasn't going to miss an opportunity to escape if one arose. They were all holding still and looking at Lars, so maybe he could just sneak away. Except that he was a terrible swimmer.

"Lars. Can you... swim me to the place that I have to go?"

OR SOMETHING?????? He just wants to get out of here.

[mossbuds]

'The place that I have to go?' That was the best Lauren could think of?? GEEZ

Lars rolls his eyes, crossing his arms.

"Yeah, fine," he humors Lauren emptily. "I'll take you to 'the place you have to go,'" Lars mocks, with a dumb voice and air (water?) quotes and everything. "C'mon."

The expression of the mermaids shifts, and they all exchange glances, giggling in an almost eerie way for its ethereal quality. Lars glances back at them, cracking a smile that's not as confident as he wishes it was. But he's doing better than he was. He waves at them, turning, and gesturing at Lauren to follow him.

"Have fun, you two," one of them coos after them.

Lars raises an eyebrow, giving pause, and looks over his shoulder, looking confused.

"Uh, you... too??"

[mylastchance]

Unfortunately their hints don't escape Lauren's understanding, and he winces wondering if it's even possible for him to feel more embarrassed than he does right now. He briefly debates telling Lars exactly what the mermaids were likely thinking right now, but in the end decides against it. Lars was a confusing irritable type, or at least that was the impression he'd given Lauren. It was probably best just to let Lars assume whatever he wanted when it came to things like this.

He doesn't want to say thank you, but Lars did help him out, even if he had laughed at him first.

"...Thanks."