lostcarnival | ⇨ WISMUTH

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⇨ WISMUTH

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

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.

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.

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.

Edited 2018-01-18 23:59 (UTC)

"I don't even drink!" Peridot calls the reminder after him, but otherwise opts to just wait over by the hole for a few moments while he takes care of that. While she's waiting, she realizes that she really probably shouldn't be using her metal powers out where just about anyone can see them, and panics and snatches the club up out of the air before glancing around frantically to make sure nobody saw that.

Alright, he's back, he's got the scorecard and pencil, both of which are getting slipped into the back pocket of his jeans (side note, jeans are amazing, Strange has decided he wants at least three pairs of these). Let's do this thing.

"I hope you're ready to lose," Strange gently trash-talks, as he positions his club and hits the ball. And it turns out that Strange is surprisingly decent at golf. The ball rolls to the end of the course before bouncing off the edge and rolling back a bit. He's not going to make it in two shots, but can most likely make it in three.

Strange looks pleasantly surprised by the position of the ball as he walks back towards the course to prepare to take his second swing.

Peridot flashes a scowl in his direction, as that 'gentle trash-talk' of his provokes the ultra-competitive monster lurking inside her.

When he makes his perfectly respectable first stroke, she watches the ball's movement like a hawk... And then she just loudly cackles when it doesn't go in the hole on the first try. "Please... You can't even get it in the hole on your first try? Sloppy."

Strange can't help but give Peridot a little frown as she laughs. This is sparking the ultra-petty monster lurking inside him and now he wants to win just so he can rub her face in it.

It takes Strange two more strokes to knock the ball into the hole. "There we go!" he remarks, trying to sound confident and haughty, "only one above par. Let's see you try to do better!"

As he walks back around to where Peridot is (he's still got his dumb drink on the ground and that stuff is not going to waste), Strange reaches for the scorecard and pencil to mark down his score.

"Pfft. Please. Why don't you step back now, and watch a true master of the miniature golf at work," she announces, taking her club and ball up to the tee.

What follows is the most ridiculously overwrought display of preparation imaginable. Peridot closes one eye and squints at the hole. She takes some measurements by holding up her fingers, even gets down on the ground and glances across the astro-turf at eye level, sizing up exactly what kind of shot she needs to make.

And then, when she is at last satisfied, she stands up! And she finally hits the damn ball, and pong, there it goes, bouncing off of the low walls of the fake green, pinging off of different corners, appearing for all the world like it's wildly out of control up until it rolls right up to the hole, and sinks in on the first shot.

Strange can't help but stare as Peridot makes that hole in one, gawping slightly in utter disbelief. He can't believe this. He actually can't believe this. She got a hole in one on her first try?! There's two options here. One, she got lucky and the rest of the game will be spent with the two of them closer in score. Two, she's going to kick his ass seven ways to Sunday.

He really hopes it's the former.

"That's only one hole, you know," Strange can't help but grumble as he marks down Peridot's score. "Let's see if you can manage to keep that up for the rest of the game!" Strange takes a slightly sulky sip of his drink as they continue on to the next hole.

"Please. It's just basic physics and geometry! If you're familiar with both, it's just a simple matter of mapping out the trajectory based on the angle of your club and how hard you're hitting the ball," she says smugly, trudging after him. "You should try it this time, see what I mean."

The next whole seems to play into that method quite well. It's arranged in a small, square spiral, with the hole at the center of the structure. For some inexplicable reason, there's a wonky looking lion off to the side of this one.

That poor lion. Strange can't help but give it a frown (because wow, it's really wonky looking) before he sets his ball down at the start of the green. Maybe Wismuth just has dumb looking lions, who knows, he shouldn't judge. The dumb thing's probably trying to distract him from crushing Peridot in the first place.

"I think I'll still continue my way: simple talent." Hoping that his game backs up his trash talking, Strange looks down at the ball and knocks it towards the center. Overall, this hole is about as well as the first: three strokes to get the ball in. And Strange can't help but frown slightly all the while.

Simple talent needs to step up it's game a little. Now that it's Peridot's turn, Strange watches her intently as he marks down his score, as if he'll somehow find out a better way to play golf just by watching.

Peridot just rolls her eyes at that statement. When it's her turn again, though, the same drawn out preparation process happens. In fact, it takes her even longer to actually make a move this time, like she's double and triple checking her calculations. When she's finally done, she stands up frowns disapprovingly at the whole layout.

"After a thorough investigation, I can only conclude that it is almost physically impossible to complete this hole in a single stroke by conventional means," she announces. "There are just too many twists and turns! It's really a pitiful design, all in all. So, I'll just have to use unconventional means to sink this one."

And before Strange has time to protest, she swings back her club and gives the ball a good chop, knocking it into the air instead of gently putting it down the green like you're supposed to. The ball arcs gracefully through the air, bounces a few times off the green and barriers alike, and then lands... ssssomewhere entirely different than she intended. Hm.

Importantly, it doesn't land in the hole. Strange can't help but smile slightly. Taking a sip of his drink, he sets it down on the ground. After all, he needs both hands to be amazingly smug. Taking out the scorecard and the pencil, Strange holds the pencil up to the scorecard, as if poised to write.

"So, that's two strokes already..." He straight up watches Peridot like a hawk, smug little smile on Strange's face as he waits for her to make her next move. Yes, she'd still be winning if she got it in the hole in two or three strokes but he doesn't care! It's enough to slightly show her up! Trajectory and geography his ass, she missed that one.

"Two strokes, that was only one!" she snaps, gesturing impatiently. "Unless you're counting total strokes for the whole game so far, in which case that's still far fewer than your pathetic six."

"Yes, but this hole's going to take at least two strokes. After all, you didn't get a hole in one." Strange can't help it: he's got a bit of a sing-song taunt in his voice.

"I still have one more hole in one than you," Peridot reminds him with a snarl! Then she marches over her ball and takes another whack at it. And another. And Another. And another--

Yeah it takes her five more strokes to finish this one, because she's too riled up to focus properly.

Strange is just delighted. The more strokes Peridot has to take, the bigger his smile grows. By the time she's knocked that ball in the hole, Strange is grinning like a goddamn moron.

"Let's see, so that's six strokes total on this hole? Wouldn't you know, I think I'm winning." Just by one. And it's only the second hole. Still, after that hole in one that Peridot got, Strange is perfectly fine being an asshole and rubbing it in her face because suck iiiiiiiit Peridot. Scorecard back in pocket, drink back in hand, onto the next hole.

Unfortunately for both of them, this hole involves water. There's a replica of a bridge over a water hazard that's only about a foot wide. And really, 'water hazard' is a nice way of putting this, 'sad and murky colored concrete ditch' is a more accurate description. Still, there's something familiar about that bridge and Strange stares at it for a moment before the dawning horror hits.

"Good Lord, is that supposed to be London Bridge? They've got it all wrong!"

Peridot looks about ready to do a murder by the time she finishes that hole, and literally just. Hisses at Strange's comment. Like a cat.

She stomps after him towards the next one, fuming quietly. Strange's outraged cry snaps her attention away from her furious internal plotting about her game strategy going ahead, and she looks at the bridge with confusion.

"What the heck's a london bridge?" she asks, wrinkling her nose.

"It's a bridge, obviously," Strange points out, with a roll of his eyes. "But it's a seminal piece of London architecture! It's been around since the time of the Raven King and they've made it far too wide. And the girders! These girders aren't a thing like the ones that should be."

Just cut him off, it's obvious that Strange is going to go on about the damn bridge for the next ten or so minutes if not stopped.

She does not cut him off, unfortunately for anyone within earshot of this conversation. "So? Maybe it looks different in this universe," Peridot says, jerking her shoulders and brushing the complaint off impatiently. She's far less inclined to humor Strange's whining after his behavior at the last hole.

"It's the London Bridge," he loudly whines, probably making those in earshot just back away from these two. "It shouldn't look different to begin with! It looked perfectly fine before and worked...well, worked fine enough, but why change it so it's all out of proportion like this is?"

Strange is being needlessly petty about this bridge and continues whining for the sake of whining as he sets his drink down, sets his ball down, and then lines up to take the shot.

Peridot leans heavily on her club, as if Strange's whining is literally sapping the energy from her. She goes back to playing with one of those sticky hands she bought earlier while she waits, fidgeting by pulling it out a little bit and letting it snap back to it's normal length a few times.

"If it's so awful then just take your shot already so we can move on and not have to look at it any longer," she growls with annoyance, lightly spinning the novelty toy around one claw.

Strange sighs dramatically before he leans down and takes the shot. Unfortunately, he didn't hit it hard enough, so the shot stops right in the middle of the bridge. Hmm. This is going to suck.

There's some awkward pauses and shifting around as Strange gets in the middle of the ditch to find a way to hit the ball towards the hole, he takes the shot, lines it up perfectly, takes a pause...and then his club veers to the left in a way that he wasn't expecting, knocking the ball off course.

"That's odd," he complains, as he goes to set himself up to take another shot. "I thought I had it lined up perfectly."

Edited 2018-01-23 02:23 (UTC)

Peridot can't help but snicker the first time he fucks up, her amusement only increasing with each awkward shift he has to make to get at the ball again. Then at his comment, she just snorts, lazily spinning the sticky hand in a slightly wider arc. "Guess you're just not as good at this game as you thought you were," she teases, tail twitching gleefully.

Yeah the toy spinning is a cover for the fact that she is definitely using her metal powers to get back at him by fucking up his swings right now. She'll let him get the next two strokes without issue, just to keep him from getting suspicious, but she's hoping she fucked with him enough that it'll take him at least another two to recover.

It does take him two strokes to recover, meaning that Strange got a solid four strokes on that hole. Okay, ten total, that's not too bad, all he has to do is try to do better next time and try to figure out just what the hell went wrong with that shot.

"I don't have to be top of the class, I just have to be better than you. Which I am." He picks up his drink again, takes a sip (this stuff is amazing) and watches Peridot take her swing. It's entirely possible that Strange is going to run himself right into a caffeine high midway through the course but hey, he doesn't care.

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