⇨ SPACE OLYMPICS

[ringleaders]

Who: Everyone!
When: Day 30 - Day 44
Where: The carnival, Zargon, and Olympic Spaceship
What: Things return back to normal as the carnival performs for aliens of all sorts at the Space Olympics. Or at least, as normal as it can be when you've got an underfunded and falling-apart spaceship hovering over a deadly planet.
Warnings: Sports and people's inability to do them.

REACH FOR THE STARS↴ At first glance, the Space Olympics seem marvelous. Aliens from all over the universe, of all shapes and sizes have joined together in an intergalactic display of teamwork and sportmanship. What could be more inspiring than that? It's only when you hang around for a bit that you notice things aren't exactly in tip-top shape. ► OLYMPIC SPACESHIP: This is where most of the events are held. It's a massive spaceship spanning hundreds of miles and consisting of multiple floors. Teleportation discs and space public transport can take you anywhere on the spaceship in a blink of an eye. It has almost every amenity an athlete can think of: multiple gyms, practice arenas, saunas, etc. Likewise, there are plenty of things for civilians and spectators: merchandise stands, shopping malls, grocery stores, and television screens everywhere so people can watch the event. Shuttles to and from Zargon arrive on a regular basis. ► ZARGON: Facility wise, Zargon itself is less impressive than Olympic Spaceship. The carnival and the athlete's village comprise most of the habitable areas. Both are concealed underneath a large biodome, the main thing making the area livable. Enterprising Zargonites have set up stands that let people explore outside of the biodome. Rent a spacesuit and you too can enjoy Zargon's natural wonders, such as the distant red plateaus and the stunning solar winds. Just try and stay away from the toxic mold, naturally occurring pockets of hallucinogenic gas, and ten foot tall Zargon Death Flytrap. ► 1980s TRAINING MONTAGE: Since carnival members can only attempt to medal in one event, why not try different sports to see what that one event is? There's equipment for all sorts of sports: gymnastics, swimming, biathalon, snowboarding, etc. They've even somehow brought space horses up here for Space Dressage! There's also equipment for sports that carnival members might not have even known existed: Space Gymkata, Space Pooh Sticks, Space Limbo Skating, etc. The sky's the limit! ► A BIT OF A BUDGET SNAFU: The Space Olympics is kind of falling apart. After performance week, the carnival is drafted to help out and keep the Space Olympics running as smoothly as possible. This means fixing buildings, breaking up fights, helping in the kitchen, trying to sell merch, etc. If there's a feasible problem, the carnival members will be drafted to help fix it. The biggest problem of all is the multiple mechanical failures: artificial gravity stops working, temperatures on the ship rapidly shift from hot to cold, and the snow machines for Space Slopestyle won't turn off. ► PERFORMANCE: Performance week will start early this stop, to try and get everyone back into the swing of things after the chaos of Wismuth. Athletes from the village roam the carnival, taking in the sights and sounds. A lot of them haven't ever seen anything like the magic of the carnival and it's workers and will proceed to ask question after question about how all of this works: turns out that sci-fi and fantasy don't crossover as much as one would think. Still, don't be alarmed when you turn the corner and there's a Hutt trying his hand at test your strength.

Comments

in the carnival

[anti_nonsense]

Yuusei may be doing his new job just fine, but while he’s working on a repair, he’ll find himself approached by a teenage girl with red-black wings. Rita wanders into the vicinity, turning her head this way and that, seemingly looking for something when her gaze abruptly zeroes in on the toolkit by his side.

“Hey, I’ve been looking for that!” she cries as she runs over to immediately look over the tools. “What are you doing with these, anyway?”

She doesn’t seem to have gotten the memo that this guy’s a new hire and that he totally has authorization to use any of the tools from the engineering department.

[alphudo]

Yuusei isn't one to startle very easily; he never really has been, and he doesn't seem to be overly on-edge even in such an unfamiliar place to the point of being jumpy. When what he interprets as a semi-indignant shout addresses him out of nowhere, though, his lower body does jump a little, stiffening and staggering. It's not that it has a mind of its own or anything; his lack of experience with it simply exaggerates some of his movements.

But mostly, after that, his reaction is reduced to bewildered staring, unsure of what to make of this girl so closely inspecting his tools. He may have been told he can use whatever's available, but maybe there's something he still shouldn't touch and he was never told. He wouldn't know.

"I'm... working," he states in a questioning tone, clearly suddenly unsure if he's doing something wrong, but also very unsure of why this person has suddenly approached him. He doesn't seem to have gotten the memo that the person talking to him is in the same department as himself. "Like I should be. Is there something wrong...?"

[anti_nonsense]

"Working?" Rita doesn't look up right away; her attention remains fixed on the tools until she seems to find what she's looking for: a wrench with a red handle, which she picks up and holds close to her face for inspection. It's only then that her gaze turns to the four-legged stranger.

"Wait, you're with engineering?" That would explain why he has these... but Rita's never seen him before. "You must be new, then."

[alphudo]

Yuusei is patient. He remains still while the girl searches through his tool belt for the thing she's looking for, and then he lowers himself onto all-fours and sits once she seems to have found it. It's easier to give her his attention this way, and he figures he may as well wait until she's done to continue, just in case he needs to go get a different set of tools.

He is, admittedly, a little relieved when she guesses he's new. "I am. I'm sorry, I haven't really made a point to introduce myself to the people I'm supposed to be working with... Are... these your tools? I can get another set if you need these."

[anti_nonsense]

Rita frowns at that question.

"Well... technically, they're for all of us in engineering," she admits with some hesitation. Rita doesn't really have a right to take any tools away from this guy, even if he is just a newbie. "But... I'm working on a project right now, and this happens to be the best wrench you'll find in the carnival."

Never mind the fact that there are plenty of other wrenches, some of them the same size as this one, that she could use. Using some standard known only to Rita, she's determined with certainty that this one is superior to the rest.

[alphudo]

Some personal standard or not, Yuusei wouldn't know since he hasn't really had the opportunity to determine if all tools are really equivalent in quality. Not that he would really care, but nonetheless, he can at least take her word that the wrench he happens to have is the best one in her eyes. There's not much he can do to influence that opinion in the end.

He frowns and lowers his head in thought, glancing occasionally between Rita and the thing he was working on - just some general maintenance on one of the rides. He's been at it for awhile, so if his estimations are correct... "How soon do you need to get going?" he asks her. "I should be just about done with this, if you can wait, but if you need it now, then I won't keep you." He very clearly isn't comfortable asking this; he doesn't know how long this girl's been at the carnival, but she's definitely been here longer than himself, and he feels he has no business telling someone who's been here longer to wait. It just seems rude.

[anti_nonsense]

Rita hesitates... then sighs. She can't really justify taking the tools away while he's working, when she's using them for a hobby...

"I'll wait," she decides. "Finish your work first."

And with that said, she sets the wrench back down with the rest of the tools, walks over to a stool normally used by ride operators, and sits. Hope you don't mind someone watching over your shoulder while you work, Yuusei, because that's what she's going to do.

[alphudo]

The observance isn't much minded; frankly, he expected Rita to stick around, and he wasn't intending on driving her off anyway. He's had plenty of others hover over his shoulder back in his own home, so it's not too unusual a situation.

Frankly, he doesn't let it dwell on his thoughts for very long, for nearly as soon as he stands back up and continues his work, he's all but forgotten Rita is there.

It really does only take him a few minutes to finish up, checking some wires and bolts to ensure they're connected properly. A sure advantage of the extra limbs is an easier time multitasking and working on multiple segments at once. He just needs to be careful to keep an eye on everything...

The maintenance panel is soon replaced, concealing the machine's inner workings. "...that should be good," he says as he backs up and sits down again. He glances over his shoulder and holds the wrench out to Rita. "Here you are."

[anti_nonsense]

Rita takes the wrench, then glances back at the now-closed panel.

"Not bad for a newbie." He's either a fast learner, or he already had some understanding of these sorts of electrical systems. "You're not... from Earth, are you?" She looks him up and down... mostly down, as that lower body of his doesn't quite mesh with what she's seen of people from Earth.

[alphudo]

If Yuusei said he wasn't taken by surprise by the question, he would be lying, and it's evident from the way he blinks rapidly in silence that he wasn't expecting it. When he's wrapped his head around the question, though, it almost looks like he chuckles a bit. "I am, actually." And, when he notices the particular stare, he adds with a slight shifting on the part of his lower limbs, "This was what I contracted for. I'm... still not entirely sure if it was a good idea."

[anti_nonsense]

Rita raises an eyebrow, staring at him like he's an absolute nutcase, which he might be.

"You asked for that? What the heck made you think it was a good idea in the first place?" she asks, bluntly. Is he some kind of weirdo? Or did he get tricked?

[alphudo]

If he hadn't just stated his lack of true confidence on whether or not his choice was a good one, he might've flinched. But then he starts looking around for something. Something to climb on... But he doesn't immediately locate anything that would be good for a demonstration. "Well...

"It's mostly just the act of walking normally that's an issue, but... It's easier to work like this. It's like having an extra set of hands-" (Yuusei that's exactly what it is) "-and I can't find a good example..."

So in substitution for going to climb something, he pulls a screwdriver out of the tool belt at his waist with one of his hind feet; it looks pretty strange, but the way he's holding it is as if he's holding it with another hand.

"It seems useful to me."

[anti_nonsense]

Rita looks skeptical as ever as he demonstrates the utility of his new limbs. When he's finished, she sighs. Maybe it is useful, but the cost of looking so freakish just doesn't seem worth it to her.

"Right... well, if you're fine with it, it's none of my business. Guess you fit in just fine at this freak show..." She turns and casts a long look at the rest of the carnival.

Never mind the fact that Rita is absolutely part of said freak show, with her large wings and cat-like tail.