⇨ 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

[espigeon]

"Of course! I'm not sure I got enough cool things from the World Walkers," he says, mocking himself gently. Julien's barely tried out that spider cloak, and certainly not around other people. He knows he should. It's pretty boss. "The shine on these piercings, Carly! I might just end up getting a few more holes, I haven't quite caught up to my pre-bird state there yet." Body modifications tend to fall by the wayside when you turn into a giant pigeon. Julien's old tattoos are just weird warped smears in his thin bumpy bird skin under lots of feathers, now.

Unlike in Greysol, here in Wismuth his glamour is still blue-haired, since dye is a thing. Good dye, even. His eyes seem darker, though.

Unfortunately he doesn't get it. "Well, uh, you might want dark tattoos? If you change color or get some... other kind of change I'd say they won't carry over, but, the rules might be different here than back home."

[fortuneglass]

"I got...a few things...?" She really needs to decide how to work with all that fabric she got...but anyway. "Hmnn...I wonder if I should get my ears pierced..." How on earth hasn't she done that already?? Didn't she wear earrings in the Manor, for that matter??? Wha-

She blinks, staring at him when he continues on about tattoos. "EH..? ...EHHH!!?? N-Not me..!! I don't even know what I'd get- Ahem-!"

A cough.

"I mean..! .... What happens when you lose a 'body'..?" She whispers, after leaning nearer to his ear to explain.

[espigeon]

"If you want to, go ahead! Your classic lobe piercings are some of the best, they just heal well and aren't in the way, but it's good to look around." They're classic and common for a reason, after all.

That's not what she's asking? All right, he'll roll with it.

"Oh. Uh, well, I'm fine so long as one of them survives," he says, also lowering his voice, but to a murmur. Julien knows what it feels like to die, now, but he doesn't know if it's worse or not when just one dies. He won't get to completely black out, that's for sure. "If it's this one I think it turns into another giant bird, but uh... anyway, I can make a replacement, it'd just take a while. I'm not sure it'd have the exact same Carnival flourishes, but it wouldn't have ink or piercings or anything. This one sure didn't."

[insidescoop]

"Hauuuhhhh, I just don't know...." She sighs, but once she has her answer, balks. "AHH-! S-Seriously..!? It's technically temporary then, huh... I guess that makes it another kind of important to keep things safe though..." Dying sucks, but losing all of your things when you revive Also Sucks.

[espigeon]

"Hey, it's all right!" He opens a couple new eyes just to check if anyone's paying attention. They're fine. "It's uh, well, it's temporary if I die! I'm not really planning to do that. If it happens, well, that's how it is. That's what I am. It's better than if someone without spares dies." If he makes it through this contract it'll mean people back home won't die, so often anyway. He's pretty sure that something else would come up somehow.

"Meanwhile it means I'm kinda a blank canvas again, and that's pretty rad! I liked my old ink but I've got new ideas. Ones it would've been a shame to have to discard."

[fortuneglass]

"Hauuuuuhhhhhh, I should hope not...! ...I guess that's one way to look at it though... ...Ah~ I could take pictures in case of emergencies, now that I think about it~"

This is, really, really not what she should take from this.

She coughs. "Ah-what were you thinking of getting though anyway..?"

[espigeon]

"If you'd like! I've also got a cell phone camera, but selfies are always, always fun, and it's good to have like a catalog of changes." He sometimes thinks back and regrets not taking any in Portland. Selfies as Iuliael, what a thought!

"Oh, text, definitely. I love me some calligraphy tattoos. Especially on the back, and the lower back." He grins, flipping through a big book and checking out the fine, flowing lines on the samples. The line weight is a bit suspect though, might be better to keep looking. "I mean, my ass is arguably my best feature, be a shame not to set it off."

[fortuneglass]

"Cell!?" She sounds...Scandalized.

And actually considers putting her hands on his shoulders. She resists. "....Julien. Please...You have to come to me for pictures from now on, definitely..!!" she half wails, her over emotiveness absolutely on fire in this place. "I have a professional kit you know..!!"

Anyway about that ass.

Which is, indeed, a great feature, or so she may be muttering as she laughs nervously and looks away. "Ahahahhaaaa... Ah- Oh, text," she coughs, shaking her head. "Anything in mind for what it would say..?"

[espigeon]

"Cell! I'm not a rich man, Carly, I take what I can get!" He shakes his head in mock admonishment. "And you can't beat the convenience of a cell phone. I'll totally take you up on that, but you'll need to know, I won't have any compunction on continuing to use it."

"Well." Julien tries to keep a straight face, but the smile is playing merrily just out of sight. "My last tramp stamp was actually, yes, some scrolling tattoo work but the major feature was subdermal implants, you know, bumps under my skin? Arranged as Braille, actually, that alphabet that you touch instead of looking at. I don't know if I should tell you what it said." How old is Carly again? It's a little hard for him to tell, between her changes and her demeanor.

[fortuneglass]

"Even stiiiiiiiill...!!" Someone get some CHEESE for all of this wine!

But anyway. 24 year old that she is, she just raises her eyebrow. "Braile..? How many people would have even known what the braile said then..?" And-

There is a pause before she realizes what he just finished off with-the result is an impressive huff. "Ooof-! Julien, I'm an adult too you know..! If you could have seen how much alcohol people gave me over the holidays..." Just in glasses-the only proper bottle she received was from Strange, as a rather polite gift in return for helping him learn to sew in fact. "I might not be able to hold a date that well, but that doesn't mean I'm that clueless..."

GIVE HER THE DEETS MAN DON'T HOLD OUT

[espigeon]

His pedipalps move to cover his mouth as Julien valiantly smothers a laugh.

"Okay, okay. It wasn't anything actually explicit, anyway, I didn't want to be gross. 'You have me right where I want me'. Hardly anyone understood it but whenever someone asked I'd just tell them!" He sighs nostalgically. "Man that was a good choice. Totally worth it, even if I only had it for a few years. Still got the bumps, they just don't really say anything now."

[fortuneglass]

"Oh, well if it's just being gross, fair enough," she decides, blinking. Ooohooooh though..! "Hohh!! Oh, that is a good one, especially since hands would be-" Wait Carly don't be gross-

Ahem. "The bumps stayed but didn't come back the same huh....that's a shame..."

[espigeon]

"Exactly," he says, smugness settling around him. "Nice and suggestive and if a girl or boy or other is in position to ahem read it, well." Good times. The few times someone had been able to decipher the pattern without being told had been especially delightful.

Julien tilts his head a little.

"Oh, well, it's actually that my other body, the bird one? That's the one I was born in, as a human. It turned into a giant bird. So the ink and the braille-bumps are there, just all smeared around under my feathers." He makes a face.

[fortuneglass]

"Ooohhhh...." A pause. And. "....Eeoooooo..." She grimaces, following Julien's line of thought almost exactly. "...That's unfortunate..." wait

"Ah-h-hey, do you think the same thing would happen when I use my spell- W-Wait, what happens to the piercings for that matter..!?" Carly you're over thinking this now-

[espigeon]

"Well, uh, I don't have external ears as a bird, they kinda receded into my head and you can probably guess how that went, not a lot of fun but I've got a healing factor, it's fine. My nipple piercings ended up basically surface piercings that my body went and rejected over the next couple months."

By the way, Carly, he has or has had nipple piercings, did you want to know that? "But I don't know what you mean about your spell, there, are you talking something happening to me, or to you?"

[insidescoop]

"Hihhhghhh....that doesn't sound fun at a-" wat

"N-Ni- You got those pierced..!? Seriously!? I thought that was a really sore spot to have done..!!" Yes but it's also really metal.

"AHH- And, oh- Well, I have a spell to turn into a hummingbird... ...but I guess if my clothes change with me, so does everything else...."

[espigeon]

He's got to cover his mouth with his pedipalps again to stifle a laugh. Carly's impressed, huh? "I absolutely had them pierced and it was great! Trust me, it's not actually as painful as you tend to expect. It hurt but it's, like, it's a hard pinch. I've had worse. Definitely that's one where you've got to go to someone reputable to get it done, though, since it can go really really wrong, too."

Julien nods. "Makes sense. Do they turn into feathers? If you dress up is your plumage different?"

[insidescoop]

"Hmnnhnnhhh....well it's definitely not the piercing for me, so that one's out anyway I guess..." Ah well.

"It isn't, actually. It always matches my body..! So...white, these days," She notes, blinking. "....I guess they just...vanish?"

[espigeon]

"Hmm, I guess I'll cancel the tandem appointment then," he says, and manifests some new extra, floating eyes just so he can wink more flashily.

"Huh!" Julien considers some kind of joke but the only thing he can think of is in poorer taste even then what he's spoken of so far, so he drops it. "Yeah I'd think a piercing would be fine. When you change states is it just instantaneous, or do you shrink and get really dismaying?"

Because turning into a bird non-instantaneously? That had been very dismaying.

[insidescoop]

"Ooof! You're lucky I'm not more upset about there being one, now!!" She knows (or. Hopes.) he wasn't serious, however. As it is. "Instant! I'd show you, but...." Erm. She glances around. That's a bad idea.

"...Really though, I've never thought about what piercing or tattoo to get... ...I didn't have the chance to consider it, before..." Rather...she did, but no one really. Prompted the idea so it never came up. Hrmn. "I wonder what would look good..."

[espigeon]

He wasn't serious. Julien grins, his palps spreading to better show the expression. "The glamour! The solidarity! Oh well, there's other ways to take advantage of a four-for-two deal."

There's not a four for two deal either, Julien's just teasing.

"Mmm, yeah, not now." The shop isn't crowded, but there's someone in the back grimacing as an artist tattoos elaborate skull patterns on his chest. "Well, you could always just try painting on yourself or sticking like press on jewels on your skin? It's not a decision to be made casually. I will say that piercings aren't usually the commitment tattoos are, you just take them out if you don't want them anymore and you can barely tell."

[insidescoop]

Stop this madness and tom-foolery, Julien-!!

But as it is. "I guess the marks I already have from changes are sort of the same too...it'd be tricky to work with those..." Shoot!

"Ah....not to mention the light..." Yes that's an Issue.

[espigeon]

"Not impossible, though! They'd dim or eclipse the light in some interesting ways, I'd think. Try out some temporary stuff! Also, just in general body painting's a thing. It can be a lot of fun." He takes a step back and forms spectral eyes an arm's length further away from her, looking under the glamor.

Julien would find Carly a lot weirder looking if not for Portland. After that it's hard for things to really register as strange. "Hmm, yeah. You should try out some henna patterns... that'd really be something."

[fortuneglass]

"You think so..? It feels almost like there's nothing to put ink on in those spots..." Temporary or otherwise, for that matter. She certainly does give off a more...Angelic 'aesthetic' now that she's ditched that shadow demon stuff though.

"Henna?"

[espigeon]

Yup. It's easier to look her in the eye when he's a little bit further from her breasts. He has been making eye contact, very steadily, just brief glances to hair or to the side so he's not fixedly staring. Not being creepy is important to Julien, even if he did just joke about nipple piercings.

"Well, maybe they wouldn't take or maybe they would. Tattoos are just injecting ink into a layer of skin so if you don't have any, I don't know how that'd work. But if you're solid, paint could still be a thing. And henna's just this dye that stains on skin. If you do it right and you're careful it can last for weeks..."

He sighs happily, remembering. "You'll see people with the most beautiful patterns drawn on their hands and feet. Once I took a summer job at a ren faire painting people with henna, mostly kids. Lots of Spider-Man. Uh, he's a pop culture figure with a costume that's got an intricate pattern of lines."