⇨ 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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qj-yAHTfVeE

[motivenotfound]

"Haha!" Mari barks another laugh, louder, but manages to get her shit together after another second or two. Pun... probably unintended. When she calms, she has to fix her glasses, because they're crooked now.

Her alien lower half ripples as she swims, and she turns back on herself, looking at it.

"Actually, I don't even know if can shit like this." She hasn't yet, but that doesn't necessarily mean she won't. Angels don't need to eat, though... she's sticking to LCL, so who knows if it's even hooked up in there? She shrugs exaggeratedly. "

"But," she presses her lips together, the corners turning up in a smirk. "It looks like I'm not the only one doing some snooping, am I right?"

[pipers_son]

“Snoopin’!” Like a delicate flower, he places his hand to his chest and summons all he can into his look of scandal. They both know it’s the most fake thing in the whole area. “Why, I’m just innocently goin’ for a stroll, tryin’ not ta get eaten by a shark and the like, when I happened ta spot ya about and got all curious.”

Too long, didn’t read - he is absolutely snooping.

[motivenotfound]

"Oh, I see." Mari has a mischievous smile on her face--it's a smile basically everyone knows is probably trouble by now, but she didn't pick her face, okay--

Well, she could CHANGE it, but since she doesn't have a reflection........

"My mistake, then. You're just minding your own business, no ulterior motives or anything... I didn't realise I was talking to the Psiionic."

[pipers_son]

Oh boy. This nonsense, now. Really, he doesn’t want to get into whatever weird nonsense is going on between Psi and Mari. For one thing, they’re adults, they can deal with it all on their own. For another thing, he is more than aware of the strange bits of Psi’s idea of romance, although the particulars are still a little tricky for him to decode. Still, it’s enough for him to understand that things could very easily go weird between the two of them.

And that’s a weird he wants nothing to do with.

So for now, he just rolls his shoulders in a shrug. “Enough about me- whatcha lookin’ at there, huh?”

[motivenotfound]

Oh, don't be so uptight, Joker. You're reading way too much into this--if Mari had weird nonsense going on with Psii, everyone would know about it.

"Well, if I knew that I wouldn't just be looking!" She blows her bangs up out of her face--which, underwater, is achieved mostly by blowing bubbles in her own face and then waiting for them to stop blocking her glasses.

"I can't get under this thing, and I like my face too much to try bashing through it. I don't think any of the magic I know is gonna help, either..."

Well. She could try altering HERSELF for her purposes, but last time she did that it turned out to be permanent, and also a lot... uh, MORE... than she thought it would be, so she's been sticking to a 'no physical changes she wouldn't want to keep, and then some' rule.

Which is why she still doesn't have cat ears, in case anyone was curious.

[pipers_son]

“Really? No magic even from you?” Joker whistles, half serious and half teasing. “Well, at least now ya know what ta look inta while ya got the spare time.” With that said, he tries to scuttle-swim on over for a closer look himself. He’s a bit on the tall side, but could he fit through…?

[motivenotfound]

"Hey! I learned to change BODIES, not boats!"

He's right, though. She should definitely bone up on her inanimate subjects.

Mari follows his gaze, swirling around to watch him peer into the dark.

"... oooh. Hey, you give it a shot! If you get stuck in there, I can totally shrink you!"

[pipers_son]

“Oh, is that what that is?” No, seriously, he had no idea what the hell her lower half was of. However, then she’s mentioning that, and he glances up at her with a wry grin.

“Am I sure that yer shrinkin’ magic would be completely temporary? Because I like ta think I’ve dealt with enough changes as it is.” And he knows that he’ll have to go through a good few more, as many contracts planned as he does, but, still.

[motivenotfound]

"This is the not-boat-eating-part of something that can eat boats. You should have seen the other half!"

It feels kind of rude to refer to Gaghiel as a 'something,' but she's learned that explaining the Angels to people makes them excuse themselves really fast, and she needs this guy right now!

"You can count on me! The only reason I'm not using it on me is that I'd have to make myself like four feet tall to fit in there like this!" It's... more like a half truth, but close enough. A couple years ago, she felt her bones stretch out to gain her two feet of height in a manner of seconds.

That was plenty, thanks.

"C'mooooon. Don't tell me you're scared of the dark or something."

[pipers_son]

Sighing, Joker gives a shrug. “Now I didn’t say that.” Carefully, he ventures closer, hand laying across metal as he tries to spread his wings a little in faint hopes that the bioluminescence on some of his feathers might literally shed a little light onto it.

“Might be a tight squeeze, although I don’t think ya would have ta make me four feet tall for me ta fit.”