lostcarnival | ⇨ SPACE OLYMPICS

Entry tags:

⇨ SPACE OLYMPICS

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Well... I guess, but don't even think about saying that to his face. It'll go straight to his head."

Rita glances away, staring somewhere off in the distance. "Anyway, I'll probably only get to be with that group for a little longer, before we all have to go our separate ways..." Will they still be friends after all is said and done? Rita wants to believe so, but she's uncertain.

Whatever happens... at least she'll have 9S.

9S looks on, silent for a moment before he says, "You can still stay in contact, can't you?"

They have mail in Terca Lumireis, right? After all, android mail is based off the e-mails and letter writing of Old World humans. Surely it's something humans in Rita's world have invented, right?

"And when air travel is invented, it'll be easy to see them." He reaches for her hand so he can squeeze it reassuringly. "And... you'll always have me, once my contract is finished."

You'll always have me.

The light swirling motion of the glowing gases making up Rita's body seems to quicken, her hand growing slightly warmer. She squeezes his hand in return. Even if she was just thinking the same thing, hearing him say it out loud means the world to her.

"Yeah..."

--Ugh, wait, she's getting sentimental.

So in a more casual tone, she continues with, "I'm going to head back to the carnival. What about you?" If he's also heading back soon, maybe they can go together.

Hm. There's still a lot of unexamined technology he hasn't investigated yet, but he's about done with aliens for now.

"I'll come with you. I have a question for you and it'll be better when we both don't look like," 9S reaches up to lightly tug at one of his cat ears with his free hand, "this."

Aliens, that is.

A question...? It sounds important, and Rita can't help but feel a twinge of dread at that... but given what he just said, it can't be something too catastrophic, right?

"You sure? This is a pretty good look on you, if you ask me." Rita leans in and gives his other ear a light tug.

She's joking. Partly.

But it is pretty inconvenient to not have a face and all, so it's off to the carnival with them.

9S yelps, more out of surprise than actual pain and the ear Rita pulls flicks back in reflexive annoyance.

"Really?" He really kind of hates it -- the fact he's an alien mechanical being sends unease crawling down his spine -- but if Rita likes it... "It feels kind of weird. I'm not used to having my ears up there, or having them be so... wriggly."

He starts walking back towards where the entrance of the Carnival is, hand still in Rita's.

"Was it just as weird when you got your wings?"

"It was more than weird," Rita admits, shaking her head. "It's more like I was... I don't know, pissed off." It was actually more like full-blown panicking, but fortunately the only person who knows that is Childermass, who isn't much of a gossip as far as she can tell.

"I hated having my body changed against my will, and... I don't know. It freaked me out to think I wasn't really human anymore."

That's something she's afraid of?

The fae changes... they have been rather minor for him so far, but even with the changes he's still an android. He was created an android so even with the way the Carnival is shaping him in both body and mind... an android will always be an android.

"Yeah, I think I understand." The body changing against her will part, anyway. "But it doesn't matter how much our bodies may change, we'll still be ourselves."

Unless they get mind-controlled or something. And given all the events that have happened since he's joined the Carnival, the potential of that happen is unusually high. Still, her words make him think of the Resistance trader with the broken leg and his refusal to repair it. If he replaces that leg, the only part of him left that is from his original body, is he still him?

...He supposes that would be difficult for YoRHa to think about.

9S pauses, before he continues. "Actually, that's related to what I wanted to talk to you about." The entrance to the Carnival is in sight. "When we first met, you said you were human and that fae magic causes unnatural changes in peoples' bodies. But... that's not quite true, is it?"

Edited 2018-04-30 13:58 (UTC)

She's still herself... That's similar to what Rita was told at the time. It's true, or it should be, but... well, it's complicated. She's done dwelling on it.

What comes next is entirely unexpected, though. "Huh? What do you mean?" Rita asks. Why wouldn't it be true?

It's about then that they cross the threshold into the carnival grounds, their bodies shifting back into their normal forms. 9S will be able to see the puzzled look on Rita's face.

Hooray, no more cat ears and tail. Good riddance! And it feels good to be able to scan again; in some ways it felt like he was blinded without it.

He's not sure why Rita's confused. He thought he was clear without being overly direct.

"The parts of you that aren't fae magic... It's not all human."

Is it something she's ashamed of? Something she finds embarrassing?

"Is that something you didn't want people to know? It's really hard to tell but I've been here long enough to separate out the Carnival's physiological influence."

Rita gives him a long stare, as if waiting for him to go on and indicate that he's just joking, badly. But he doesn't.

"Don't be ridiculous," she sputters, shaking her head. "It's only natural that there's some variation between Earth's humans and those from Terca Lumireis. That's probably all you're seeing."

That's the most reasonable explanation. And yet, she feels her heart rate quickening. It seems impossible, but would 9S really say something like that without being sure there was truth to it...?

9S shakes his head; he's certain he's not mistaken. "You... don't know?"

How can she not know what she is? But... Scout had mentioned that she might be part (human originating) alien. Are biological beings unable to discern their own physiology?

He's made a terrible mistake.

"I still consider you human," it's what makes it hard to be close, sometimes, "but I... I thought the non-human part was something you didn't want people to know. And I wanted to know why."

"You're serious..." Rita murmurs, still in disbelief. Is 9S not even going to entertain the idea that he's mistaken? No?

"But that's absurd. I'm obviously human. What the hell else would I..." She trails off, her look of anger fading into one of realization. "...unless..."

Taking her hand back, she folds her arms, her brow furrowed as she thinks. "I never knew my dad. I mean, maybe I met him when I was really little, but I don't remember anything about what he looked like. He... could have been Krityan, but..." The very idea seems ludicrous, and saying it out loud makes it feel even more so.

Of course he's not going to entertain the idea he's mistaken. He's a Scanner. There's no way he could be wrong about this sort of thing.

"Er. Dad? Krityan?"

It sounds like Rita's suddenly had some kind of realisation, but he's still hung up on the fact she didn't know she wasn't completely human.

"Krityans are a race of people who live on Terca Lumireis. They look similar to humans, with a few differences, such as pointed ears and long antennae." Neither of which are traits Rita has. "They mostly live in secluded places, separate from human society... but there are a few who live in the empire. Some even come to Aspio to study."

She takes a long, deep breath and exhales slowly. This is something she never had to think much about before, after all.

"If it turns out I've got Krityan blood, that would explain the discrepancy... right?"

Rita seems a bit overwhelmed by all this. He feels a little bad for unintentionally dropping this information in her lap. "I could confirm if I could gather physiological data from actual Krityans but that does seem like a logical explanation."

Unless there's another race that is capable to breeding with humans?

"By 'dad' do you mean your male progenitor? How do you not know who he is? I thought parents raised their children."

9S gets a bit of a weird look at his choice of words, but the comment that follows is met with a short, humorless laugh.

"Yeah. That's what they're supposed to do. As it turns out, some of them leave their families behind and take off to... I don't know. Dodge responsibilities? Drink themselves stupid? Go off to war and die? Probably at least one of those." If Rita sounds a little bitter, it might be because she definitely, absolutely is.

9S stays silent as Rita talks and when she finishes, he squeezes her hand, completely forgetting they're on Carnival grounds; he's so focused on her. It seems that sometimes... reality doesn't match what androids know about humans. He's finding more and more often that he was so ignorant of humanity. Is.

"Sorry for bringing it up like this." He knows so little. The corners of his mouth turn up in a small smile. "But in the end, you didn't need him." Threading his fingers between hers, he continues, "And you have people who care about you... the you who survived without knowing your dad."

Not just him, but... he's certain Strange and Lambert care, even if they have odd ways of showing it. Her friends back home, too.

Feeling the soft, reassuring touch of his fingers, some of Rita's agitation fades away.

"I..." She sucks in a deep breath. "Yeah. You're right. I wouldn't be the person I am today if things had been different, so... I don't have any regrets about it, really." If she had a father, maybe she could have been a normal, happy girl. But would she have been the genius of Aspio, the inventor of spirit conversion? Would she have come to the carnival and met 9S?

Lifting her gaze to face him directly, she adds, "It's a lot to take in, but... I'm glad you said something. I'd rather know than not."

It still doesn't seem real, the idea that she could've been anything but fully human. There's nothing wrong with Krityans, exactly... but Rita thought she knew herself better than that. Was there really no way for her to know otherwise?

"Knowing the truth would be better than living in ignorance, huh?"

Learning so many truths about what went on with YoRHa and himself had been so painful. But despite it all... if he hadn't learned it, then he would've had no choice to resign himself to the cycle of unhappiness. At least knowing allows him to move forward.

He reaches for Rita's other hand.

"Humans are so different to what I imagined. I knew they were capable of good and bad in equal measure. Since coming here, it became clear I knew so little of humanity." He leans a little closer, smiling. "But you're everything I hoped it would be."

"Idiot," Rita scoffs, though her cheeks take on a reddish tinge, "How can you say that stuff with a straight face?"

Perhaps the most annoying part of all is that his cheesy sweet-talking is actually kind of working. She feels a fluttering in her chest at his closeness, and while she turns her head away briefly, her gaze soon wanders back to him.

There's a part of her that felt uncertain when 9S said he still thought of her as human. Could he really? After all, humanity is so important to him... but what he's saying now, she can't doubt his sincerity. He means it. And in a way, the feeling's mutual. If Rita affirmed 9S's faith in humanity, 9S may have restored some of hers. Rita tends to be a cynic when it comes to people, but if humans were able to create something as amazing as him... well, she has to give mankind some credit for that.

Rita glances around, making sure nobody's looking, then leans in to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. She then pulls away, her hands slipping out of his.

"I... have to go think about this, for a while. I'll see you at the trailer later tonight."

His voice takes on a small whine, though his grin undercuts the seriousness of it. "Because it's true! That's how I really feel!"

Even though he slowly realised that Rita wasn't entirely human, as far as he's concerned, she may as well be. Even from the very beginning, he'd harboured a sense of awe and wonder towards her. To have her consider him as an equal... it's an honour that lifts his spirits in a way nothing else had. With this realisation that she isn't quite what she the thought she was biologically, he hopes she doesn't take it too hard. Rita is Rita, regardless of her biology.

And... Well. He'd love her even if she wasn't human.

When she leans in, his pulse rate spikes briefly at the affection. He's a bit reluctant, unwilling to let her go, but he nods all the same as she pulls away. "Alright. I'll see you later. And, um. Let me know if you need anything."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

⇨ SPACE OLYMPICS

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject