⇨ 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

[kingsroads]

Wait what. Strange pauses for a moment before scowling slightly at Rita. He can't really argue that and he knows he can't argue that and it pisses him off that he can't. "I am not nosy enough that I'd send someone else to spy for me."

He'd just do the spying himself!

[anti_nonsense]

"It's the same thing!" she cries. "Next time you think about walking into someone's home without knocking, try thinking about how it'll make you just like that guy!" Rita doesn't know a damn thing about who that guy is or what he's like, but if Strange has any complaints about his behavior, then maybe he'll see the negativity in his actions.

It's very fortunate for him that Rita hasn't yet been told about his spying during the lake party.

[kingsroads]

"How is sending someone else the same thing as doing it yourself? By doing it myself, I'm taking up responsibility! Sending someone else is just pushing the job off on someone inferior."

He does not see the negativity in his actions in the slightest. Granted, a bit of this is splitting hairs. But in Strange's mind, there's a world of difference between the two choices!

Never mind the fact that the only reason someone else was sent in the first place was that Strange was magically concealing his location. He'll remember that eventually.

[anti_nonsense]

"Yeah, yeah." Rita dismisses his protest with the wave of a hand. "The other guy's a huge coward, and you're only half the coward. You're still just as nosy."

That's the only difference as far as she's concerned. It's still mostly the same thing, and Strange is fooling himself if he wants to think otherwise.

[kingsroads]

Strange grumbles something under his breath that suspiciously sounds like 'I'm not a coward.' Still, he knows that if he keeps this up, he'll end up arguing with Rita all day. So, time to shift the arguing to a different lane and a different set of arguments.

"Maybe if you knew how to scry, then you wouldn't have to threaten them in the first place. You'd know they were coming and could prepare your counterspells when they arrive."

[anti_nonsense]

Rita makes a sound like a small, derisive snort; it's a little hard to tell when she's not actually using a nose.

"Scrying isn't a thing in my world. And that's probably a good thing, because then I'd have to worry about people using that as a way to steal research, too. It's bad enough that I have to write my name on everything I own, in case it falls in the wrong hands." She totally doesn't need to do that, but she does. Full name, too.

[kingsroads]

"It could be a thing," Strange points out. "You're going to radically change the magic of your world: it only makes sense that the spells you could or couldn't cast would change with it."

He doesn't really know how aer might be manipulated for scrying purposes. But it seems awfully silly for Rita to declare something 'not a thing' right before she goes back to her world and changes the entire system of magic. It could be a thing.

[anti_nonsense]

Rita just gives him a long, quiet look, because he's right and that's kind of annoying.

"It could," she admits after a delay. "But I'll be happy if it doesn't become a commonplace sort of thing. Having one person magically spying on people is plenty, if you ask me." Yes, Strange, she's talking about you. "I've never had that much interest in it, myself."

Except she did try scrying magic once, back in Portland... if anything that happened in Portland really counts.

[kingsroads]

Of course he's right. He's always right. Rita's admission causes Strange to give her a brief, smug, 'told you so' sort of smile. But then there's her admonition that scrying isn't really her thing: something that Strange doesn't understand at all. How could Rita not have interest in it to begin with?

"Why? Nosiness aside, there's so many practical applications to scrying. The magic was damn useful when I was in the peninsula."

[anti_nonsense]

"That war? Hmph..." Rita would like to say she doesn't know anything about that, but unfortunately she knows all too much, thanks to Lambert lending her whatever reading material he had handy back when she was recovering from poison.

"It's just not my style!" she eventually offers as a counterpoint. Yeah, sure, it's useful and convenient, but also, who wants to be more like Strange? Not Rita.

"Anyway," she adds, forcefully segueing to another topic, "I was meaning to ask you about something. I heard you're working on another book?"

[kingsroads]

Thankfully, the conversation shifts to something both of them won't argue about: books. Strange perks up as Rita mentions his work in progress book. He nods, before launching into an explanation.

"I am! It's a memoir, to be precise. I've written chapters up to our visit in hell and I've started to draft the chapters on Alola and the Mainframe. I'm honestly dreading writing about Portland, that will be a nightmare and a half to explain."

Any grumpiness about Rita's disinterest in scrying is starting to fade away as Strange continues talking. He's just yammering away as if he expects Rita to actually give a damn about the contents of his memoir.

[anti_nonsense]

So it is a memoir, like he said he'd write some time ago; one that includes his experiences in the carnival.

And luckily for Strange, Rita does give a damn about this memoir, because...

"The Alola visit was when I came to the carnival. To be honest, I don't know much of what went on before then." Something about vampires...? That's about it, really. "I'd be interested in taking a look at what you've written."

[kingsroads]

And Strange just brightens up. There's a wide smile on his face as Rita mentions her interest. Because honestly, that's perfect! He trusts Rita's opinion and he needs someone who wasn't there to read things over and make certain he's explaining things properly. This would be wonderful!

"I'd be happy to lend you the drafts," he remarks, grinning still. "Though, if you want a concise summary of what happened, I can give that to you here and now."

[anti_nonsense]

"...I suppose I've got time," Rita says after giving it a little thought. It'd be nice to sit down for this, though... She scans the area briefly, and her gaze settles on a bench nestled between a few food stands. Its current occupants, a pair of long-necked aliens, happen to be standing up to leave.

Rita gives the now-available seat a nod, then starts walking over to claim it before someone else beats them to the punch. "How long have you been with the carnival, anyway?" If he mentioned already, she doesn't remember. And besides...

When she thinks about it, Rita's a little over halfway through her contract. Strange was here before her, so how much longer could he have...?

[kingsroads]

And Strange will gladly take any time to sit around and talk. Here is a man who adores the sound of his own voice and will happily chatter along for as long as Rita listens.

"Closer to eight months than seven," Strange muses, as he sits down on the bench, next to Rita. "Truth be told, I don't remember exactly how long I've been here. I went back to England for a while when we were in the middle of Greysol—that's messed up my calendar a bit."

It doesn't help that when he did go back to England, he got cursed almost instantly after returning. Nothing messes up your internal calendar like being trapped in a pillar of neverending darkness.

[anti_nonsense]

"Just a bit before me..." Rita muses as she settles into her seat. Doesn't seem like it'd be enough time for a whole lot to happen, but considering how all of Portland happened in a single month, that probably isn't a safe assumption. Also, considering the mention of a visit to hell, there's probably a worthwhile story or two in there.

She's curious about this visit he made to England too, but it's probably best to stay on topic, lest she end up listening to some long-winded rambling.

"Let's hear it, then. What happened in that month or two between you joining and the Alola visit?"

[kingsroads]

"When I arrived at the carnival, we were stationed in a world called the Matrix. It was another digital world, much like the Mainframe, though the residents there did not realize they were in a digital world. That world had no magic, but you could tap into a force from the Matrix to do things like magic. The world was policed by people called Agents. The Agents had this way of enthralling people, warping them to their side and changing their thought process entirely. The bastards enthralled a few carnival members and, during an attack on the carnival, one of our number shot me."

It was Childermass who shot him but Rita doesn't need to know that much, does she. As he mentions being shot, Strange reaches up to idly scratch at his shoulder, where one of his mirrored coverings would be if he was himself and not a fuzzy cat person.

Based on Strange's tone of voice, he still thinks the Matrix absolutely sucks. It was a terrible introduction and he's got no love lost for that world. The Matrix was awful, confusing, ridiculous, and he'd really not like to see or hear of it ever again.

"And don't ask me how they enthralled people without magic," Strange butts in. "I wasn't entirely sane that first month. And even if I was, the culture shock of going from my world to a faerie carnival to a different world entirely all in the span of a week or so would be enough to confuse anyone."

[anti_nonsense]

"Great. So there was brainwashing even before Portland, and even without fae involvement," Rita grumbles.

Rather than asking Strange about the enthrallment, however, Rita offers up a hypothesis of her own. "...It's conceivable that someone could control a person without magic, if they had the right technology. Scientifically, our minds operate by sending small electrical signals throughout the brain. If someone could manipulate those signals, they could change the way we think and perceive the world." It's not a nice thing to think about, but it's plausible nonetheless.

Tapping into a technological force to use magic, though... It sounds similar to how blastia operate. It's kind of a shame Rita didn't get to see that.

[kingsroads]

Strange gives Rita a dubious look. He knows that technology that could control someone without magic exists: after all, he was in the Matrix. But hearing her explain all of that so matter of factly feels...odd, somehow. Probably because Mr. 1810s over here hasn't really thought about how the technological things could do what they did, he's just been writing most of it off as 'that's a thing.'

Anyway, the peanut gallery has nothing to contribute to Rita's theories about manipulating electrical signals so Strange continues to explain what happened before Rita's arrival. "There were a few days in between the Matrix and our next location while we recovered. During that time, the Ringmaster called the supervisors to examine a demonic sigil placed on the outskirts of the carnival. Of course, I know all of this because I saw the meeting with my scrying."

And he can't help but be a little smug about that. Ha, points for scrying, take that Rita. And here lies the proof that Strange was always a nosy shit, he's just become even more nosy the longer he remains at the carnival.

[anti_nonsense]

Rita would roll her eyes if she had any right now. "You would."

Yeah, that's not so much a point for scrying as it is a point for Strange being goddamn nosy.

"All right, so what was the deal with the sigil? Sounds like an enemy's doing."

[kingsroads]

"It was. The sigil was placed by the vampires, a demonic race that plagued us until we went to hell. However, we didn't deal with the vampires just yet, as our next stop was in Atlantis. We became merfolk there."

It's just said as if it's perfectly normal. Growing gills and a tail, no biggie, hanging out underwater, these things happen.

"My scales on my neck and hands are left-over from our time there. I had an orange, black and white coloring as a merman." He had a goldfish tail, though it was a fancyass goldfish that Strange never really recognized as a goldfish. "Adjusting my magic for an underwater performance was interesting, but I made it work."

[anti_nonsense]

"Merfolk? Ugh." Rita makes a noise of mild disgust. "Hope they aren't anything like the ones where I'm from."

On a brighter note, what he's describing does seem to align with the bits and pieces Rita's heard before. It helps to have a bit of a timeline and a big-picture understanding of the events.

"Did that part go smoothly, at least?" He said the vampires plagued the carnival until they went to hell, suggesting there must have been an incident, or multiple incidents, before that point.

[kingsroads]

This is the carnival. There are always incidents. At Rita's question, Strange shrugs. "For the most part, it did. Some of us went to fight a giant crab and I bought a cursed potion, but aside from that, nothing too worrying happened."

Though, Rita mentioning merfolk has gotten Strange's attention. The conversation is sidelined for a moment as he looks over to ask,

"What are the merfolk you know like?"

[anti_nonsense]

"Gross, primitive, hostile... to put it concisely. They've developed enough to work in groups and even make simple weapons and tools, but they've never really tried to communicate with humans. They just attack us on sight." They're more of a nuisance than anything, in Rita's mind.

"... Dare I ask if you drank said potion?" Because let's be real, drinking a cursed potion is completely the sort of thing Strange could be expected to do.

[kingsroads]

He straight up drunk the potion. And Strange knows that Rita knows that he drunk said potion, so he gives her a 'you've got to be kidding me' sort of look before it shifts to something a bit sheepish.

"Were you in Alola when the freak snowstorm happened? That was my doing. Drinking the potion boosted my magic, to the point that I could summon a faerie within the carnival. I was attempting to summon the faerie that had cursed me and kidnapped Arabella but I...erm...summoned the wrong one."

Even now, that's still a bit embarrassing to admit. He'll still blame part of it on the potion itself, but Strange knows he can't blame all of it. He fucked up, he'll own up to that.