⇨ WISMUTH

[ringleaders]

Who: Everyone!
When: S2:D6-D11
Where: Wismuth and the Carnival Grounds
What: The carnival enjoys a few days in Wismuth, a coastal city on this planet's version of the American east. However, there are a few things very unique about this version of the planet...
Warnings: The usual, wholesome fun.

PILLAR OF CREATION↴ Upon arriving, things in Wismuth will seem pretty peaceful. It's a massive city, with no shortage of things going on, but things like violent crime and homelessness are at an all time low. You can wander the streets without much scrutiny, presumed to just be tourists, and most people here come across as helpful and friendly. ► VIBRANCY: The main thing that sets this planet apart is its vibrancy - AKA, the raw creative energy its filled with, flowing from its status as a Pillar of Creation. There is no literal pillar, but Wismuth and its planet is a place where Creation's energy comes through strongest. As a result, everything here feels somehow more real, more intense in a way that's hard to put a finger on. Life is abundant, and its bleeds through in every sensation. ► ATTRACTIONS: There are plenty of things to see while going around the city. First and foremost, there is a lovely beach area bordering the ocean, and a number of tourist aimed attractions built around it. There are giant malls, movie theaters, live stage performances, museums and all kinds of other points of cultural interest. Anything you can do in a big city you can do here, but better. ► ALLOWANCES: The Ringmaster will be giving everyone a reasonable amount of local currency for a few days on the town. You can't make any massive acquisitions with it, but it's more than enough to eat out, see some shows, go to the beach, and whatever you like. You can feel free to pick up some casual supplies, like mundane clothing and souvenirs. There will be more given out later, after the performance week. ► PERFORMANCE: Performance week is starting early this time, after only a couple days of exploration. When the carnival has already been on vacation for a month, the Ringmaster figures they may as well get right to it, and then do more touring afterwards. Members of the local populace will find themselves in the carnival once performances begin, dazzled by the other worldly sights. Magic doesn't seem to exist here, despite the fact that it will flow easier for people bringing it from other worlds.

Comments

[periphrasing]

[CLOSED TO AMETHYST]

It's pretty much a given that whenever the carnival stops at a new world, Peridot and Amethyst are going to go dumpster diving. Whether that means literally jumping into a bin behind a local business or it means sneaking into the local dump and perusing mountains and mountains of discarded junk, scavenging is one of their mutual favorite activities. Peridot is always on the lookout for new materials to make morps out of, or for parts to scavenge for engineering purposes, and Amethyst... Uh. Well. Amethyst just loves garbage.

The point is, it works out.

Wismuth is a particularly exciting opportunity because it's the first modern setting that they've been to in a while. That means a higher grade of discarded technology and more pre-manufactured parts for Peridot to pick through. Acquisitions keeps her department steadily supplied, but sometimes it's nice to get out and pick out your own supplies. Plus, the bonding time with Amethyst gives her an opportunity to fill the other gem in on the events of the mini-vacation back to their own world that Peridot and Lapis just recently returned from. Right now, she's elaborating on the ill-fated attempt that she, Lapis and Steven made to help one of the wayward rubies adjust to life on Earth.

"...So then we fell in the ocean, which kind of sucked. But then the weirdest thing was that when we all surfaced and regrouped, Lapis started laughing. Like, REALLY laughing, laughing REALLY HARD at a situation that was distinctly un-funny. I was starting to get worried about her, but then she suddenly shouted 'I KNEW IT! NO ONE IS THAT WELL ADJUSTED!' So, I think she was just really excited to have her suspicions vindicated."

It's the middle of the night in a big blocked off dump, and she's telling this whole story (complete with an absolutely TERRIBLE impression of Lapis) whilst jubilantly ripping apart what appears to be an otherwise perfectly good vacuum cleaner in order to get at the busted motor inside. Why anyone would ever throw this out, Peridot has no idea, but hey... One human's trash is another gem's treasure.

"So yeah. The Roaming Eye is gone, I guess. So hopefully we don't need to get into space again any time soon. Garnet seemed okay with it, at any rate..."

[WILDCARD]

Dumpster diving and shopping is about the most exciting thing that Peridot's going to get up to before shit starts happening here, but if you want to wild card an encounter with her digging through the trash like a horrible green raccoon or... I dunno, spending ill-advised amounts of money on those sticky hands that you can fling at people, or something else, hit me up.

[drrdrrdrr]

Amethyst snorts. "Uh, yeah, I'm okay not going into space for a little while," she says as she squints into a discarded Pringles tube. "I mean, getting to meet all the other Amethysts and everyone else was awesome, but... I kinda wish we could just bring 'em all back to Earth, y'know?"

[periphrasing]

"Back to Earth?" Peridot repeats, looking up at her pointedly and blinking. "That seems... Impractical. Where would they even stay? The barn is pretty much at maximum capacity with Lapis and Pumpkin and me."

[drrdrrdrr]

"Eh, well..." Amethyst shrugs. "It's not like they got a ton of room where they are now." After a moment's reflection, she eats the Pringles tube. "There's loads of places they could stay, as long as there's a warp pad so we could check in on 'em."

[periphrasing]

Peridot cocks her head. "Would they actually want to come to Earth in the first place? I mean, Earth's great and all, but Lapis and I only wound up here because we literally had no other choice."

[drrdrrdrr]

"Yeah, totally," says Amethyst. "I mean, for one thing there's no cloddy Agates around to tell 'em what to do. And there's so much cool stuff on Earth I could show them! And they wouldn't have to sleep standing up in little boxes -- and they already like humans..." She shrugs. "I dunno, dude, from what I've seen Earth is definitely better than Homeworld." She pauses, and pulls a face. "I know Lapis doesn't think that, but... You do, right?"

minigolf nonsense

[kingsroads]

Obviously something called Wismuth Fun Palace had to be investigated. So, Strange and Peridot decided to see what the hell it was. It turns out that Wismuth Fun Palace is a large indoor entertainment center, with a small arcade selection, a ball pit, a far too greasy snack bar, and most importantly, a nine hole mini-golf course. It's definitely a place where small children would have birthday parties, which at least makes the grownass tall adult stand out more than the smaller tiny gem person.

So, Strange and Peridot are going to play some minigolf. And while Peridot is spending ill-advised amounts of money on those sticky hands, Strange is spending ill-advised amounts of money on processed sugar. He's sipping from a fountain drink as he watches Peridot choose what color club and golf ball she wants (Strange has chosen purple.)

"I've family in Scotland so I've played golf before—I prefer billiards, though." Oooh, maybe they can find some place to play pool next? "But I have to admit, I've never actually played golf with giant windmills and fake crocodiles." There's a pause, while he looks over towards the edge of the room. "Do they have water in here?"

They do indeed have water in here: putt the ball over the bridge or else it falls into the tiny pond.

[periphrasing]

She picks green, naturally. Not quite the shade of green that she'd usually prefer-- it's more of a forest green than a lime-- but it will do in place of all the other much more inferior colors she has to select from.

"Mmm," Peridot confirms without really looking where he's looking, more focused on making a few haphazard practice swings with her club. "Several of the holes will have 'hazards' like that, bodies of water that you have to play around in order to succeed. I recall the presence of it varying from hole to hole... At least, that was the case at the course back in Beach City."

She does look up finally, only to squint at the giant crocodile in question. "The decor there was definitely different, though."

[kingsroads]

Strange has decided, without asking Peridot, that he's going to go first. So, he moves up to the first hole as he talks, giving it a once-over. The first hole is a simple L shape, something for people to practice on before fake crocodiles and water hazards enter the play. Looking around for a moment, he carefully sets his drink down on the floor before going to set his golf ball at the start.

Of course, considering he hasn't actually hit the ball yet, there's plenty of enough time for Peridot to kick up a fuss if she wants to go first.

"The one I went to had more sand and rough terrain for hazards than bodies of water—I'll keep score, by the way. This one's a par two." The golf course that Strange went to also happened literally over ten years ago, so who knows how good his golf game is at the moment.

[periphrasing]

Jeez Strange, haven't you ever heard of "ladies first"? Peridot sure hasn't, so it's not really an issue, but. Jeez.

Fortunately, Peridot is not feeling so petty as to want to make a big deal about not going first, so she stands back and absentmindedly makes her putter float next to her while she watches. "Did you grab a score card, or are you talking about just keeping track mentally?"

Because uh, sorry Strange, she's not about to leave the very important task of tracking the score of a very important competition up to the imperfect human memory.

[kingsroads]

He definitely was going to leave the very important task of tracking the score up to the imperfect human memory. There's a pause where Strange mulls a few things over before deciding the battle isn't worth it, he'll go pick up a score card (though he knows he could accurately track the score himself, thank you very much.)

"I'll go grab a card and pencil—and don't steal any of my drink!" he says to the alien who doesn't need to eat or drink. The drink's Mountain Dew, Peridot probably wouldn't want it in the first place. And so, Strange heads back to the main hut to grab a scorecard and pencil.

[prazerbutterfly]

Tyki could be rather quiet when he wanted to. He simply had to disallow the ground from touching his shoes and his steps would be silent and still. It's not that he meant to startle or alarm anyone in the process of investigating. Given most of the area was quite clean with little to no homeless around, someone digging in a dumpster made him approach with little to no care if he was encroaching on someone's livelihood.

He leans over the dumpster enough to lightly shadow the area and he'll settle his hands on the edge of it to peer inside with an amused look. His cheerful disposition as he folds one arm over the edge and allows his cheek to settle into his other hand is at least warming, "Finding anything interesting?"

[periphrasing]

Unfortunately, no matter how warm Tyki's demeanor, Peridot is very easy to spook. "GAH!" the gem yelps in alarm, the tuft at the end of her tail poofing out like a frightened cat's. She whirls on the source of the voice with indignation, ears pinned back.

"Do you mind?" she snaps, jumping right into giving the perpetrator a piece of her mind.

She's not exactly sure who the heck this guy is? He's another carnie, she swears she's seen him around but uh. Name, department? Can't place him.

[prazerbutterfly]

Not to mention it was not every day something of that color was present. He knows it's someone from the carnival and he can't stop his curiosity from getting the better of him. Even at her being spooked he doesn't change his own demeanor at all. If anything, his fingers curl into his cheek with a chuckle.

"Am I suppose to be minding something? My apologies."

Not that Tyki expects anyone to remember him. So far he's only been recognized as that guy that went missing from the manor. He'd rather be associated with something else, "But I do have to ask, what exactly are you doing? If you're hungry, there is the cookhouse or I can buy your something."

[periphrasing]

Peridot gives him a weird look. "I don't eat," she says flatly, the tone of someone who has had to explain this point far more times than she cares to. "And I'm not looking for food, I'm dumpster diving. I intend to make use of all of the appliances and other objects that humans tend to just throw out, despite the fact that they often contain numerous salvageable parts."

[prazerbutterfly]

His brow raises high and he's not judging. It's just that eating was a wonderful experience and he doesn't know many that don't need to eat. He wants to ask her why but that would be rude. Of course, that's never stopped him before. Instead he invades her personal area but leaning in more to take a look at what she was digging around for, "Dumpster diving? Isn't that a little dirty~" Instantly, he's aware she's not human at all given how she just talked about them as if they were different. Humans would use words such as 'people' or 'others'.

peridot what r u doin

[atouts]

A green raccoon stands out, Peridot. It stands out a lot. So while she's rifling around through a dumpster behind whatever Wismuth has in place of a Home Depot, a crow will land silently on the edge of that exact same dumpster and just... watch. Head tilted curiously, one silver eye turned down towards her as she carries on.

Don't you judge her!!

[periphrasing]

It's the uncanny feeling of being watched that finally gets her to turn around. Peridot freezes in the middle of sifting through piles of discarded scrap wood, ears pricking up as a sense of unease creeps over her.

She gives a start when she turns to see the bird sitting there, fumbling a piece of broken plywood she has grasped in her claws and clutching it closer to her chest. Identifying the cause of that uncertain feeling bring relief for only a brief moment, and then that relief swiftly turns to indignation.

"Uh, can I help you with something?" she demands rudely, not entirely sure if this is her fellow supervisor or just some regular old crow.

judge judge judge

[atouts]

Unfortunately, Childermass can't speak in this form. He couldn't in Portland and he still can't here and now, so after tilting his head the other way, looking at her with the other eye, he'll let the spell go and return to a human form in the blink of an eye and the flicker of a shadow. He's standing outside the dumpster rather than in it, one hand settled on the edge exactly where he'd been perched.

"I was about to ask you the same thing," he says, looking in, eyebrows raised. What is she even doing in there?

[periphrasing]

So it is Childermass. Hm. She's not sure if she's relieved, or if she'd have rather been shouting at a regular old bird.

Peridot tosses the piece of plywood off to the side and folds her arms grouchily. "Not unless you want to climb in here with me you can't," she says plainly.

[atouts]

"Duly noted," Childermass deadpans but very clearly makes no attempt to join her in there. "You know, if you're looking for a particular material, there's no need for you to dig around in the trash for it."

wildcard

[hurtcomfort]

Eventually, Peridot's got to return to her trailer to drop off some of the stuff she's scavenged from dumpsters and bought. And once she does, she's granted with a bit of a weird sight.

There's Cole, squatting on the ground, watching as Pumpkin runs around and making happy Pumpkin noises. There's also a few dog toys scattered around, including some from the inside of Peridot's trailer. Cole totally did a break and enter in order to play with this dog. He'll toss a ball or play tug of rope or just accept all the sloppy pumpkin kisses that the sentient vegetable gives to him.

Cole's just so wrapped up in paying attention to this gourd dog thing that he doesn't realize Peridot approaching until she's already there. Still squatting on the ground, he looks up at Peridot. His expression is hidden a lot by his dumb hat, but that doesn't hide the fact that Cole's surprised to see her.

"Oh." Well this is awkward. "Hello there?"

[periphrasing]

Really, all Peridot can do for a long moment is gape in confusion. She stops in her tracks as soon as the pair come into sight, and drops a bag full of loot to the ground.

There's... so much in this scene that doesn't make sense to her. Like, who the heck is this guy? What's with that HAT? Why is Pumpkin outside? Did Lapis let her out to play with this stranger or something? That doesn't SEEM like something that Lapis would do...

"Um... Hello?" She says uncertainly. "Who are you and what are you doing with my Pumpkin?" She sounds... suspicious, but she's not flying off the handle yet. Maybe Lapis made a new friend? That sounds HIGHLY UNLIKELY now that she thinks it, but, hey, she doesn't want to jump to any conclusions.

[hurtcomfort]

"We were playing," Cole simply responds, though he's got a bit of a guilty tone. Yes, he knows he shouldn't have let Pumpkin out and yes he knows he technically did a breaking and entering and Peridot's confusion and suspiciousness just radiates off her so strongly that Cole can point it out...but there's a cute dog. And Cole's discovering that there are two things he really likes: hats and dogs.

He hasn't really answered Peridot's question of who he is. Cole will probably need to be reminded to do that.

"She missed you," he points out, as if the fact that Pumpkin's happily bounding over to Peridot wasn't obvious enough that she was missed. Thanks, captain obvious.

[periphrasing]

At that observation, Peridot glances down and scoops the little gourd up, holding her close to her chest. "Okay, that's... Nice, I guess!? But it doesn't answer my first question, which is who are you? Are you a friend of Lapis'? She never mentioned anyone--"