⇨ 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

joker - ota

[pipers_son]

A - Charmer

If there's one thing Joker loves about new stops, it's... a lot of things, actually. It's very much the same reason why he had loved traveling on the road back in England, only taken to fantastical extremes where money is never a concern. The sights, the people, the act of learning all about an entirely new places...

And charming people to visit the carnival, of course.

He's glad that this place seems pretty similar to a couple of other stops that they've gone to in the past. This means Joker doesn't have to spend much time gaping over anything, or figuring out how everything works. (Too much, at least.) The second he's confirmed that he has a relatively firm grasp on this stop, Joker immediately gets to work.

That's how he can be found all over Wismuth, happily at work talking with all sorts. Literally. There's him at the park, playfully chatting with an old lady who seems charmed by his teasing flirting. At another time, he can be found at an outdoor cafe, causing a pair of friends to smile and blush in equal measure. Maybe he's at a bar, laughing loudly with some guys? And, of course, he always spares a little time for kids with their parents, playing casual "sleight of hand" as magic tricks to make them gasp and clap.

Either way, if he spots someone from the carnival nearby, he'll abruptly pause, grin in their direction, and gesture them over. "Hey, c'mon~." To whoever he's talking to, he winks. "It's a coworker of mine!"

B - Birds the Word

Still, Joker can't talk to everyone in the city.... and it's much easier to get them to come to him anyway.

So anywhere that there's enough room- a park, a small plaza- clapping and cheers can be heard. There's Joker right in the throng of it, whistling up to the large "owl" which is soaring overhead. Feathers is more than happy to put on a show, much like his trainer, and responds quite well to every bit of applause. Sometimes he does dips, or spins, or just lands back onto Joker's outstretched arm.

(Which takes some bracing, let him tell you. More than once does Joker have to subtly nudge him up to his shoulder, which deals with the weight better. Dartrixes are heavy and big.)

During that last bit, it's not uncommon for more brave or curious sorts to be allowed close to pet the animal. Good thing it only took a little bit of glamour to make him look like an ordinary animal...

Here to watch a show, or check on the two?

C - Performance

No one, as far as Joker can tell, has seriously injured an audience member or accidentally set something on fire that they shouldn't have. For all intents and purposes, the first night of returning to shows has gone fantastically. Joker is really very proud of everyone, even the new folks who haven't had a chance to get into the spotlight just yet!

And since good behavior deserves to be encouraged...

On the second day of performances, anyone who goes into the backstage areas will found a small pile of.... animals? No, wait, they're pouches, and bags, things like that. Are you Wardrobe, Security, Maintenance? Then the large Dartrix that is standing guard will coo in pleasant greeting.

Anyone who's an actual performer, however, will have Feathers perk up, and he'll immediately start calling out. HEY. HEY YOU. HEY LISTEN.

D - Joker's Wild

[I'm good for anything else you can think of! Joker is all over the place, so he's easy to BS.]

C

[mirrortide]

Lapis isn't even sure why she goes backstage when she can pretty much just leave and go back to wherever Peridot is and hopefully prevent disaster from befalling herself again, because it seems to be the norm here.

But here she is, faced with a bunch of stuffed creatures that remind her of a more recently traumatic time, exacerbated by the fact that a certain Jasper is here too! Feathers coos, but Lapis gives him the most dead eyed look known to both man and gemkind.

[pipers_son]

....Well. It's not as if Feathers is oblivious to how Lapis is Lapis, on the account that he not only has eyes but they are very good eyes! Because he is an owl and also a Pokemon! Or something like that. However, this seems a little different Lapising than the normal Lapising.

So Feathers pauses in his cooing, only to simply stand there and stare with his big ol' eyes.

[mirrortide]

Lapis kind of stares for a good long silent while until, eventually, she strides forwards towards the pile of stuffed creature pouches. One of the yeti crab ones is what she picks out, and she lifts it, her gaze turning from Feathers to the object, inspecting it.

And then back to Feathers, looking the bird dead in it's owl eyes.

There's a surprisingly loud rrrrrip as she pulls it in half, maintaining eye contact the entire time.

[pipers_son]

....Oh. Well.

That just happened.

Feathers stares for a while longer, birdy face hard to read on the account that bird faces aren't particularly made for a wide rage of expression. He stares at the now bisected yet crab, then at Lapis, then back to the yeti crab. After a few rounds of this, He looks back towards the pile of bags still available before hopping over to it right by her feet. He starts to dig through the pile with his beak, going through until finding another yeti crab. Carefully, he lays it down between them and puts one taloned foot onto the fluff....

And then, digging in, twists a part of it right off and flings it up into the air.

YEAH!! LET'S DO IT!!! JOKER ONLY TOLD HIM THAT THESE WERE GIFTS, AND SOME GIFTS ARE MEANT FOR THIS, RIGHT???

[mirrortide]

Considering Lapis' dead eyed expression before, you wouldn't think she'd be amused about this bird ripping apart a yeti crab. But here she is, already fetching another of the creatures from the pile.

This one is thrown, and then subsequently speared against the wall by a sudden pull of water turned ice from the stage. Normally it's just part of her show! Now it's a deadly weapon, and Lapis is having fun.

It's bad.

[pipers_son]

It's horrible, and yet no one is around yet to stop them.

Unlike Lapis, Feathers stays focused on the crabs he's already mutilating. He keeps tearing the poor thing about, rapidly shaking his head about with particularly stubborn pieces and then flinging them in the air again. They're really triumphant tosses, too, and by the end of it, he almost seems completely covered in fluff.

Has Lapis let go of the crab she ripped in half? Because he's going to try and grab that one too. ALL MUST BE TORN TO SHREDS.

[mirrortide]

They'll leave no witnesses to their heinous crime.

Lapis' crab has been discarded, and she's currently busying herself with a coelacanth shaped back now, tearing out the stuffing from the gills of the imitation fish.

Where is your god now, deep ocean creatures?

[pipers_son]

God just walked through into the room, actually.

....Well. Joker did. But he runs the performance department, so, you know. with a bottle of water in his hand, he pauses at the sight. Out of all the things he was expecting to see, a speared (fake) crab against the wall, a (fake) fish being shredded, and his (real) bird dancing in the stuffing with flapping wins, covered in fluff.

He pauses, just to take in the whole thing.

"...So. Yer havin' fun, it looks like."

C

[genice]

Day two, and he really needs to figure out what limitations he's working with. Day one started him off observing the acts and performances being given in the big top and the smaller areas, Victor still in a strange liminal space of actively suspended disbelief. It was one way of handling being overwhelmed, and frankly, he was powering through on will alone. There are tyrannosaurus rex's here. There's floating and magic and people with all kinds of body parts and apparently, that's a feature of working here, one that has very little to do with voluntary modifications.

One more joy that he has to wonder how it will effect whatever he ends up doing, before shoving the thought aside and acknowledging that he'll face that when he comes to it. For now, he should hunt down their Stage Manager and have a proper talk, to see what...

His thoughts trail off as he comes across the odd assortment of animal themed pouches and bags. Almost at the same time, there's a large bird calling out for him to listen: Victor blinks, staring at Feathers, and wonders if this means he should have asked Reira if her large eagle friend also had a hidden talent for conversing. Large birds here are surprisingly chatty.

"... Yes?"

[pipers_son]

With attention firmly got, Feathers cheerfully begins to hop on over. Sure, he could walk or waddle, but hopping is much easier. Once he's close enough, he leans over, nipping and plucking at Victor's pants. Unfortunately, however smart most Pokemon are, they don't get the ability to speak. He has to just keep tugging him along, over to the pouches.

[genice]

He watches in a gentle sort of bemusement, not used to dealing with birds as a whole, let alone seemingly intelligent ones on a mission. "Hey," he says, trying to step back first, not wanting his pants to develop any unnecessary holes on his second day around, "Stop that. Please."

He makes a shooing motion, Feathers' persistence paying off by Victor relenting to follow along after him for the sake of his wardrobe. "Here, see, I'm following, no more pulling at me, all right?"

Coming to a stop close to Feathers, but warily trying to stay out of beak reach, he's by the pouches... and lifting an eyebrow. "These are... cute?"

What's going on, bird. Victor isn't getting it, largely because never in his life has there been a pile of oddball animal pouches sitting around backstage. Mostly stuffed animals, after performances, being collected for donation to charities later on. "Does someone need help getting this together for gifts, prizes, donations?"

Victor is so ready to believe the bird might even pantomime an answer. This is where he is, because what should he not believe right now.

[pipers_son]

If there's any issue with his beak and delicate fashionable clothing, Feathers doesn't see it. They have people who can magically make clothing better, right? What's the big deal? Still, once Victor is close enough, Feathers stops bothering his poor pants and hops back to the pile.

Still incapable of talking, the Dartrix can at least shake his head before nudging forward one of each type of bizarre little toy separate from the pil. Expectantly, he looks up at him.

[genice]

They're his only pants from home, Feathers, be kind...! Victor stands before the pile, with the bird, and watches each of the different little toys be nudged forward. He doesn't get it in particular, but he does cautiously duck down, eyeing Feathers warily. His smile is close lipped--he's not sure what bird body language is like, but he knows beaks are sharp and talons rend, so he'd rather not accidentally provoke a bad response.

"Do you want to play fetch?"

Yes, that's his next line of thought. After all, this is what Makkachin does when bored and wanting to play.

[pipers_son]

A breath-holding moment of anticipation seems to have taken over the bird as Victor kneels down, and he watches... only to deflate at the question. A soft sad coo accompanies the way he shakes his head.

Definitely not fetch. He's not that kind of pokemon!

[genice]

No fetch? He looks from Feathers to the stuffed toys, reaching out with his eyebrows quirked up. When he holds one up at random, he offers it out to Feathers.

"I'm sorry, I still don't know what you want me to do with this."

[pipers_son]

With a toy finally picked up, Feathers lets out a delighted coo. Immediately, he bumps his head up into Victor's hand to nudge it closer to him.

Yes, that! Keep that!

B

[pullingamiko]

Miko doesn't know the stage manager particularly well, so it's more by chance than by design that she comes across him and his disguised Pokemon in the plaza.

It's a chance she's pretty glad for, too, since this is cool as hell even if she does live in a magic fae carnival.

She scoots in closer toward the end of the show, and, of course, is one of those coming up to pet Feathers with a bright grin when it's over. "Looks like you're gettin' a lot of bites over here!"

[pipers_son]

Oh, if it isn't one of his favorite crab-thieving individuals of the carnival. It's been a while since they've really had a chance to talk since then, but Joker still grins down at Miko as she comes over. Feathers is thriving under the attention, and he's more than happy to accept her pets with a soft coo.

"That's the plan~. Although I didn't mean ta grab others from the carnival along with everyone else, too!"

[pullingamiko]

Her grin brightens a little further as Feathers responds. "I mean, what d'ya expect to happen? This stuff is cool to see whether you're used to it or not."

She spent months hanging around giant robots and that never got old, clearly this is on the same level.

[pipers_son]

"Well, when we head back ta the carnival for the day, ya should drop by the big tent again." Joker grins. "We can show ya some tricks that don't get ta be seen outside the carnival grounds."

It's mostly the Pokémon stuff, of course, a lot of which they're still getting a handle on... but hey, it still counts, right?

[pullingamiko]

"Oh man, seriously?" Yes, Miko, you work here, there's no reason you wouldn't be able to watch that stuff. "Totally! What kinda stuff have you guys been working on?"

[pipers_son]

Raising a finger to his lips, Joker winks. "You'll have ta come see and find out~." Or, if he's being honest, a lot of plant things and feather things. Although there's this wind thing...

"But do ya think you'll have time for fun and games, or are ya bein' put ta work already~?"

[pullingamiko]

"Aww, c'mon!" Clearly, Miko has no appreciation of surprises. Or she's just horrifically impatient and hates the idea of waiting to know what cool stuff she's been missing out on.

She makes a face, wrinkling up her nose. "I got work, yeah - but I'll have time to come by! I got breaks and stuff."

[pipers_son]

Somehow, the impatience just makes him laugh. "Has no one ever done a surprise party for ya? The not-knowin' is half the fun!" Then again, kids could be like this. Insatiable curiosity and all that.

"Well, we'll be waitin' for ya. Just don't get on the other supervisors' bad sides in the meantime~. Or some of 'em might force ya ta work, ha."