⇨ 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

[hurtcomfort]

Cole has no idea that by 'Co-chan', Tamaki means him. Add in the fact that he's lost as hell and a little bit scared and he's just not having a good time. Cole looks up in confusion when Tamaki arrives and he hears his voice. Oh good, someone who actually might know what's going on. Cole looks relieved, not even noticing that Tamaki almost got hit by that car.

"You called me Co-chan. Is that a nickname?" Being in a party with Varric, a dwarf who literally refers to everybody by a nickname, means that Cole grasped the concept of nicknames quicker than some other concepts (like 'jokes' or 'armor.')

[puddingemote]

"Yeah." He nods in confirmation. "Like, the first part of your name. And -chan, like, a little kid or something."

Cole looks like he's around Tamaki's age or a little older, and if he's a spirit he's probably way older, but he's so clueless that he's like a kid. At least that's Tamaki's reasoning.

"Checking out the city?"

[hurtcomfort]

"Oh. I don't mind that. The Iron Bull called me kid as well."

Tamaki isn't the only person to think that Cole feels younger than he really is. Cluelessness gets you further than expected. At Tamaki's question, however, Cole can't help but frown.

"I'm trying. It's just bright and busy and loud." Far too loud in his opinion. How do people deal with all of this?

[puddingemote]

"Eh? Is it too loud?" Maybe he's just used to it because he was raised like this, though? Tamaki's not familiar with life out in the quiet country; the Carnival is the closest he's gotten to rural living.

"I guess, if you're not used to it, it's confusing though. Mostly, I just ignore the stuff I'm not interested in."

He looks back and forth, says, "Let's go this way," and starts down the street, glancing to see if Cole is following.

"What's the Iron Bull?" He's picturing the sort of mechanical bulls people ride on in the movies, not that he's ever seen one in real life.

[hurtcomfort]

Cole's split his life between a creepy basement in a magic tower, a castle fortress in the middle of nowhere, and various rural rustic scenic landscapes as they travel from point A to point B. Big cities are damn foreign to him.

When Tamaki looks behind, Cole is indeed following, tailing behind Tamaki like a lost child. And he brightens up a little at the fact that oh yay, he can talk about his friends.

"The Iron Bull works with us. Strong and safe, rushing forward to protect, if they hit me, they won't hit the rest of 'em. I don't think he likes shirts."

[puddingemote]

Ah, so the Iron Bull is a person. A person who calls himself the Iron Bull. Kinda weird, but one of Tamaki's friends refers to himself as Onii-san. There's always someone.

"He sounds like a good guy." Actually, kind of like the guy Tamaki knows who calls himself Onii-san. Yamato always puts himself between the rest of them and anything that might try to harm their group; if there's any mud to be slung, he lets it hit himself first.

"Did you guys have to fight a lot?"

[hurtcomfort]

Cole nods slightly, making a little mmhmm noise. "It's easier with monsters. Mindless and mad, attacking because it's what they know. I don't like it when it's people. It makes me think of when I wasn't me, when they called me a ghost. But some people won't stop. So I stop them. Daggers dancing in the dark, a slit here as they bleed bloody, my knife at their throat."

Welcome to the murdery backstory, Tamaki. Cole's just saying all this without hesitation as if the fact that he kills people on a regular basis is something that he has to do. However, his voice falters and hesitates slightly during the middle of his explanation. He has to do it, it's best if he does it, but that doesn't change the fact that Cole doesn't really like killing people.

[puddingemote]

Tamaki can't help but flinch. Lambert talks about killing people too sometimes, and Tamaki gets that they're from other worlds where maybe that's more necessary than on his, but it's still pretty disturbing when someone talks about murder like it's a normal occurrence.

At least Cole sounds upset about it.

"What kind of monsters?" He'd rather just steer the topic away from slitting throats.

[hurtcomfort]

"Darkspawn. Fiends from the Fade." But hmm, Tamaki doesn't really know what those mean. Cole frowns for a moment, thinking, before he adds in another few examples, ones that he knows Tamaki will recognize.

"Sometimes it's wolves or wyverns. And bears. Lots of bears."

They fight so many bears. "There are dragons, but we usually don't fight them."

[puddingemote]

He doesn't know what Darkspawn are at all. But bears and wolves, he understands. Wyverns are a little more shaky... but dragons, that he gets.

"Fighting a dragon sounds cool though." Like something a hero in a game or a story would do - if it's a mean dragon, anyway. Some dragons are nice, but he doubts they would be fighting them if it were that sort of dragon.

"Why do you fight bears?" Lots of them.

[hurtcomfort]

Cause you can use their skin to make clothes.

"If they aren't doing anything, we can leave them alone. But if they attack us, we have to defend."

Cole's an all-loving spirit of compassion but he's also a spirit of not getting murdered. He's actualized the concept of self-defense and 'not getting dead by a bear' pretty thoroughly.

[puddingemote]

"Makes sense." If he were wandering around in the wilderness, and a bear attacked him... he would run away. But someone strong like Cole and his friends would stay and fight, apparently.

He looks up ahead, and his eyes land on an ice cream shop. He hesitates, then looks back at Cole.

"Do you eat?" he asks abruptly. If Cole can't, it'd be kind of mean to take him into an ice cream shop.

[hurtcomfort]

"I don't," Cole responds, with a shake of his head. "But you do and it makes you happy so I don't mind."

Granted, the thing that makes Tamaki most happy isn't ice cream, but Cole can at least tell that Tamaki likes it. So, time to get that ice cream.

[puddingemote]

"Eh? But doesn't watching people eat make you sad?"

It made him sad, back when he was a ghost. Of course, he could still remember what it was like to eat; and really, he supposes, since he wasn't actually dead, he was more or less starving at the time.

[hurtcomfort]

"I'm not like you were. I never was alive to begin with." Tamaki was a person who died and then became a ghost (but then became a person? Cole's got vague brushstrokes about Portland but vague brushstrokes will suffice). Cole was a spirit who thought he was a person. At least in Cole's mind, they're two completely different things.

"It makes you happy so it makes me happy." It's as simple as that.

[puddingemote]

"Hm... I guess that's what being a spirit of compassion is about?"

Said as he goes ahead and starts walking into the ice cream shop. If Cole is okay with it, then they might as well, while they're here. It's less crowded and noisy than the street, anyway.

[hurtcomfort]

And Cole follows Tamaki in. Though once they're in the ice cream shop, it gets a bit odd. Nobody seems to be looking at Cole. While Tamaki gets a few looks of acknowledgment from the counter staff, everyone looks past Cole or through him, as if he isn't there.

Cole doesn't mind. He's peering at the sprinkles with a little frown: what the heck are these?

[puddingemote]

Tamaki seems less bothered by this than a normal person would. It's a little weird (maybe he can only see Cole because of the ghost thing? But then, can't other carnival people see him?), but at least he can kind of understand what's happening.

What's more weird is the look Cole is giving those sprinkles.

"Sprinkles. You put them on the ice cream," he says when he comes over, cone in hand. He demonstrates by scooping out a liberal amount and pouring it on his ice cream.