lostcarnival | ⇨ ATLANTIS

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⇨ 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

"You were mad at the Carnival." He thinks, at least. That's what he seemed to have the most problem with when he was yelling. He puts down the shells he was holding (in completely different spots from where they were before of course), watching Fluff as she investigates them.

He nods, that was definitely what started the argument. It wasn't what really set him off though.

"I don't like talking about. What happened in Phlan."

"You don't like talking about anything." He knows what Lauren means, though. The whole dragon thing was really bad, and they couldn't do anything to stop it. He felt bad about it too, but it wasn't surprising that Lauren would be more upset about it, that's just how his brother was.

Okay, that was true, but this was hardly the time and please to discuss his shyness. He gives Susan a look, before shaking his head away from Captain Obvious over there.

"It just, it reminded me a lot of what happened before."

He frowns. 'Before' could mean a lot of things, and although he has a guess of what it could be, he isn't sure.

"What do you mean?"

He hesitates again, looking at the shells, even fluff is staring at him. It's more than a bit offputting.

"When Nana and Father died."

He nods a little. He figured that's what he meant, but still... He doesn't quite get the comparison personally, but he was too little at the time to really remember it well enough for that kind of thing.

"But this was different, right? No one can stop a dragon... Not like those undead guys."

He nods. Of course it was different. He was older, and stronger, but still there had been so little he could do.

"Just. Cassyt and Aelyd, they were so willing to run off like that."

Leaving him behind to deal with the aftermath. It's rare he resents his parents for their deaths, but it's not a totally unknown feeling to him. He's old enough now to know it's childish, but it doesn't mean he can stop himself from thinking it at times.

"Even now, there's so little I can do." Back then, in Phlan, and now here at the carnival. He utterly hated feeling useless.

Susan wasn't there, and so all he has as reference is what Lauren's told him before - which isn't enough to have a lot of thought on. Still, though, he knows it's hit Lauren hard, and he wants to help as much as he can.

"You can do a lot! You're really strong and good at a lot of things..."

He rests his elbows on the tables, slumping over it.

"Like what?"

"Well... You're good at magic! And you're good at doing stuff with animals... And plant and nature stuff too!" You know, the important things.

He scowls down at the table, normally he'd be a bit more withholding around Susan. Susan was younger than him, he was supposed to take care of Susan, not the other way around. Lately though everything had been so overwhelming, and well, who else could he turn to besides his brother?

"What use is magic if I can't even use it to protect the people I love?"

Susan frowns at that, and shakes his head.

"No... You can use it to protect me! You're the best brother, you always look out for me... Your magic is really good at it."

He lets out a scornful laugh. He'd nearly lost Susan in the dream realm, even with all of his own magic at his disposal. Then he'd nearly lost him again in the matrix. They'd been saved by a stranger there. It was sheer luck that they had survived, certainly not because of Lauren and his magic. He hadn't been able to save Aelyd either, or any of the other people whose lives had ended at the hands of that green beast.

"If I'm so good at looking out for you why do you keep getting hurt?"

"That's because I'm not good at staying out of trouble!" Obviously. What other reason could there be?

"I'm the one that's supposed to keep you out of trouble." he demands. He can't even believe that Susan would think otherwise. He simply doesn't believe him. What else was Lauren there for other than to look after his younger brother and make sure he didn't get hurt? Every decision he'd made, every thing he'd done had all been for that one purpose. He'd dedicated his life to it, and still it wasn't enough. He wasn't enough.

He deflates at the realization. Susan hardly needed him anymore anyway. As powerful as his 'little' brother was he could probably look after himself. So then what the hell was Lauren even here for?

"But if I was better at staying out then you wouldn't have to do so much work and then you would be able to do it super easy every time! You really are good at it..."

He might tease his older brother, but he really does think Lauren is basically the best around - and the fact that his brother doesn't seem to be able to see that kind of upsets him.

He shouldn't have talked to Susan about this. He knew Susan blamed himself for Lauren being stuck here at the carnival already. The younger half-elf didn't need to take the blame for this too. Kids were supposed to get in trouble, it's just what they did. Adults were supposed to look after them.

"It's not your fault." he murmurs, obviously upset.

"But it isn't yours either." He doesn't really blame himself, especially since some of the trouble isn't even stuff he does but just bad things happening, but most of all he doesn't want Lauren to blame himself.

So it was no one's fault and Lauren was right back where he started with his useless magic. He didn't want to talk about this anymore. He didn't want another fight or for Susan to get upset.

"...Alright."

Too bad Susan is already upset, but he isn't arguing yet. Instead he stays quiet, moving his shells around again as he thinks and waits for Lauren to say something more.

As Susan moves the shells Lauren looks back to them. He picks one up, it's inside smooth but the outer edges rough instead. He feels over it with his thumb as he thinks. He wants to change the subject or take back what he's said, but he's not sure how.

"... I wasn't trying to upset you."

"...I just want you to be happy."

He knows it's silly, and he knows that maybe Lauren already is happy... But he doesn't seem like it now, and now he feels like he isn't doing a very good job at cheering people up. Maybe Lauren needed someone else to help him, that wasn't Susan?

Hearing Susan say that makes him feel like such a fucking idiot. He wants to tell Susan he is happy, but he isn't and he knows it. He doesn't make it a habit to lie to his brother, but right now he wishes he did.

"Susan..." He just looks up at his brother, feeling guilty.

Edited 2017-01-29 17:32 (UTC)

He doesn't know what else to say, but he's the one with words so he has to try. He shrugs a tiny bit.

"I do... You're great, even if you don't think it. You're the best brother ever."

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