⇨ 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

b

[anti_nonsense]

Rita might not feel the vividness of Wismuth as intensely as Cole, but she's certainly happy with their destination. The futuristic city has much to offer in the way of information and technology, and it's almost a shame she only has a few days to enjoy it before performances start and she has to spend most of her time working backstage.

She walks along the street with Francis, glamoured to look like an ordinary cat, at her heels, when she sees Cole standing by a busy intersection, looking worriedly at various things. He sticks out like a sore thumb, but no one else seems to notice.

"First time in a city like this?" Rita asks, stopping a few steps away from him and giving him a curious look.

[hurtcomfort]

Cole's just so relieved because Rita's here, everything's going to be fine, she knows what she's doing. And she can probably help him figure out what he's doing. Cole obviously relaxes a little as he nods, looking from Rita to the intersection.

"Bright and busy, so many lights, so many sounds. Have you ever been to a place this loud?" Cities have ambiance that your average castle in the middle of nowhere or wide expanse of explorable farmland don't. And even the cities that Cole has been to before didn't have cars, advertisements, all sort of background ambiance noise of a big twenty-first century city.

[anti_nonsense]

"Nothing quite like this, no. But I've seen a few big cities before." This is just a little step up from the others, as far as Rita's concerned. "It's busy, but it's organized. A lot of clever design went into this place." Things people probably wouldn't expect Rita to have an appreciation for: urban planning.

But it's not just Rita who's comfortable regardless of the crowds and lights. Even Francis, who normally doesn't venture into the worlds they visit, seems oddly content despite the usual grumpy look on his face.

[hurtcomfort]

It's a mixture for Cole. When he's not thinking about it or when he's in a less crowded area, he's amazingly comfortable with this place. But times like now, when he's smack in the middle of it, make the spirit a little bit anxious.

Still, Rita's happy so that's good. "Francis likes it also," he points out, looking at the cat. "I don't know about myself yet."

As people walk past them, a few make eye contact with Rita or look her over but everyone seems to simply ignore Cole: something which if he's noticed, he's not bothering to comment on.

[anti_nonsense]

There's a slight softening in Rita's expression at that observation. She suspected as much; Francis seems a lot more eager and energetic than usual, but it's kind of nice to hear it confirmed by someone who can know for sure.

"It just takes some getting used to," she assures him with a shrug. "I was just about to check out some of the stores around here. Wanna come?" Considering how totally lost Cole looks right now, she suspects he isn't in the middle of something important.

[hurtcomfort]

"I do," Cole responds, with a nod. "There's things the carnival needs. And...a few things the carnival thinks they need. Someone else can pick those up." All it took was time on the moon for Cole to realize no, nobody in this carnival needs alcohol, they make bad decisions as is, we don't need people getting drunk.

"Childermass would want me to get them." Though a thought does cross his mind. Did Rita know he's a thief? Well, Rita knows he's a thief now. It's as simple as that.

[anti_nonsense]

"You work for Childermass? Wait, that means you're..." A thief. Rita opts not to say so aloud, considering how easy it would be for someone to overhear her if she continued at normal volume.

She lowers her voice as she asks, "Uh... Are you okay with that? I mean, stealing from people?" Rita's not a big fan of theft (perhaps hypocritically, as she's technically done it once or twice). It seems weird that a guy who's practically made of empathy would engage in it.

[hurtcomfort]

And Cole just...kind of looks back at Rita in confusion. Why would he not be okay with that? It's just stealing. He's stolen plenty of times before, sometimes because someone didn't need something, sometimes because some people had something the Inquisition needed, sometimes to prevent an accident or something dangerous from happening.

"Should I not be?" Cole asks, with a frown. "Stealthy and silent, a dagger in the darkness, they won't see me. It's how I can help."

[anti_nonsense]

Rita frowns right back at him. She doesn't doubt that he could steal without getting caught, considering his tendency to seemingly appear out of nowhere and vanish just as suddenly. But that's totally not the issue here.

"It might help the recipient, but what about whoever you're stealing from?"

[hurtcomfort]

"Sometimes they don't need it. Sometimes it's better if they don't have it. Things depend, places change."

And thus Rita learns that compassion has odd morality at times. Cole's treating this like it's something obvious or common sense. As Rita frowns at him, Cole gives her a confused frown of his own.

"You don't like stealing."

[anti_nonsense]

"Of course I don't," Rita retorts sharply, as if that should be obvious. "I had to worry about thieves all the time back when I lived on my own." It's been years since she had any actual problems with thieves, perhaps thanks to her learning offensive magic and being prepared to use it at even the slightest hint of intrusion.

There's also the fact that she was accused of being a blastia thief before, when she was completely innocent... To Rita, the notion of thievery just oozes with negative connotations.

[hurtcomfort]

"But you work somewhere with people who have to steal things," Cole points out, as if this is obvious. If Rita doesn't like thieves, how does she reconcile it with the fact that the carnival has thieves?

And she lived alone? This is also news to Cole, so he can't help but prod and ask about it. "You don't live alone now. Was this back home?"

[anti_nonsense]

That reminder brings a sigh out of Rita. "I know... I have to get used to it, on some level," she grudgingly admits. That doesn't mean she has to accept all kinds of theft, though. Maybe she can see if Cole really can steal without compromising his morality.

"And... yeah," she replies to his question. "When I was little, my mom passed away and left me alone in a house full of books and research tools. People figured that kind of stuff was wasted on a kid, and they'd make all kinds of pathetic excuses to come in and take things." She remembers feeling angry, afraid, and most of all, helpless... but that's in the past. These days, Rita's confident in her ability to protect herself and her property.

[hurtcomfort]

"I'm sorry," Cole remarks, with a frown. "It wasn't wasted, wasn't forgotten. You grow and interests bloom and it was hers."

Because that's what matters the most. Not the fact that Rita had her mother's tools, not the fact that Rita became a blastia expert anyway, but the fact that her mother's tools belonged to Rita's mother and that's why they were important.

"They shouldn't have taken them. I wouldn't have."

[anti_nonsense]

For a moment, Rita's speechless, her cheeks slightly flushed.

What Cole's saying isn't anything revolutionary. It should be obvious. But back then, there wasn't anyone else who'd say it, who'd stand up for Rita. So... hearing it, even years later, kind of does make her feel better.

"R, right... I know," she mumbles uncomfortably, then abruptly looks back up at the intersection. "Let's go. The light says we can cross now." She waves, signalling for him to follow as she starts to cross. Francis trots along beside her.

[hurtcomfort]

And Cole follows Rita though the intersection, a bit unaware of the fact that her cheeks are flushed and she's uncomfortable, only picking up on the fact that he helped. There's this little kernel of Rita that feels better now and Cole is going to focus on that.

But there's also another pressing question on his mind. "Do all lights here tell you when it's safe to walk?" The pressing question is a bit dumb.

[anti_nonsense]

"The ones that looks like that do," Rita replies, pointing at a light that appears to depict a person walking. "The one that looks like a hand means you shouldn't cross."

It's shortly after she says so that the walk light fades, and the hand starts to blink instead.

[hurtcomfort]

Cole lets out a little 'oh' as the light changes and the sign shifts. Well, that's unexpected! Nice and helpful, but unexpected. Unfortunately, this means he stands in the middle of the crosswalk for a moment, looking at the light as he tries to figure out just how exactly it changed.

[anti_nonsense]

Francis, possessing greater common sense than most people, human or spirit, darts ahead to the sidewalk and waits there. Rita takes a few more steps before realizing Cole isn't keeping up.

She doesn't know how much danger these cars pose to a spirit, but she'd rather not chance it. Rita turns back, grabs Cole's arm, and yanks him along to the other side of the road. It's just as they reach the sidewalk that the lights change and the cars resume zipping through the intersection.

[hurtcomfort]

And Cole gets yanked to the other side of the road. He doesn't really protest or anything, he just lets himself get yanked along by Rita for whatever reason...never mind, Cole knows what reason now, as the cars start moving through the intersection.

"So the lights tell the machines when to move as well." That makes sense. And it's orderly! Whoever came up with that idea must have been very smart. "There are a lot of lights here. Do they all do that?"

Lights on the cars, lights on the buildings, streetlights, a modern day city is just bustling with lights and Cole's obviously gotten a bit overwhelmed with everything.

[anti_nonsense]

Rita lets him go once they're at safety and continues walking, keeping an eye out for stores that might look interesting.

"The ones by the road do," she explains as she walks. "These ones along the sidewalk help people see at night, and the ones over the stores are supposed to get people's attention so they come in and shop." Rita might not have spent much time in Wismuth, but she knows this much from her time in Portland, which had a similar set-up.

[hurtcomfort]

That's a lot of things lights can do. Cole follows Rita as she walks, paying absolute attention to her explanation.

"How can a light get someone's attention? It can't talk." Wait a moment, they are in Wismuth, things talk here that don't normally talk. Cole's a bit more excited as he asks, "Can it?"

Because holy shit, a talking light would be so cool.

[anti_nonsense]

Rita stops to give him a long, disbelieving stare. Another pedestrian stumbles into her from behind, but quickly changes course to veer around them.

This might not be the stupidest question she's ever been asked, but it's up there. Do spirits normally lack common sense, or is it just Cole?

"...No," she finally manages to say, brushing a hand over her shoulder and shooting the passerby an annoyed glance before looking back to Cole. "They're just... you know, eye-catching. Sometime they've got bright colors, or they flicker, or they just stand out in the dark. People can't help but look at stuff like that. We've got the same thing in the carnival."

[hurtcomfort]

This is a spirit who was surprised that Cullen's armor came off. Cole has absolutely no common sense.

Still, that makes sense. They get attention by being bright...oh, like a bird! Or being big, like the Iron Bull. That all makes sense. He nods, looking over at Rita. "Bright and burning, something so shimmery you can't help but look at it. Sparkling in the shade. I think I understand!"

Though people stumble into Rita or pay attention to her as they walk down the street, nobody seems to be looking at Cole. Their eyes glance over him as if he wasn't there. Cole takes care to walk around people, weaving in and out of the way, but nobody's noticing him.

[anti_nonsense]

Well, if he gets it, then... good, Rita supposes. With that settled, this might be a good time to change the subject. There's something she wanted to ask about.

"Say, Cole... It's been bugging me for a while, but..." Rita's gaze drifts to some of the passersby along the sidewalk. "Is it me, or do most of these people just... not notice you?"

It feels like a weird question to ask, and she keeps wondering if it's just her imagination, but Cole's probably no stranger to weird questions. Besides, between the two of them, Cole's taller, more awkward, and has a big weird hat. For every glance Rita gets, he should be getting, like, ten.