lostcarnival | ⇨ SPACE OLYMPICS

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⇨ 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

"I promise I'll be a faster learner than my brother." Not that that's hard.

Really, Yukio? Really? "He ain't doin' too bad in his lessons, y'know." Well enough that Shura had been completely comfortable with the thought of leaving him without a teacher. But this wasn't about Rin and his progress.

"It ain't like I'm gonna be showin' you the same stuff, so don't starting judgin' yourself off of him, anyway." He shouldn't be doing that anyway. But really, now she had to come up with some kind of lesson plan for Yukio... Well, she'd worry about that later.

Yukio's always judging himself in comparison to Rin. He needs a baseline to compare himself to, someone he can surpass. And if not Rin, then everyone else. He's going to be better than Rin, better than Shura. He needs to be stronger, strong enough that no one will worry about him and he won't need to worry about his ability to protect anyone else. It's his responsibility.

Heart, skill, body, and not bottling up your emotions, Four-eyes.

But she's already lectured him once about this, and for right now she will let the matter alone. There were more important things to think about, like a hot spring. Eventually, probably after some more bickering, but maybe there's a bit of quiet between them on the way up, they'll reach their destination. And Shura looks entirely too happy to be there.

"Nyaho~! That Ringmaster can't be too bad if she's givin' us somethin' like this~" And she's immediately going to stick her hand in the water of one of the pools to test the temperature. She's going to claim the one that feels the hottest for herself.

That wasn't exactly what Yukio was expecting Shura to say. Not that bad? What did Shura think she was getting herself into here?

"What did you contract for, Shura-san?"

Ah. Yes. That. Shura freezes for a second, feeling a vague sense of something that might have been embarrassment in a normal person who experienced things like shame. She wipes her damp hand on her shorts as she rises back to her feet. Well, it wasn't like it was going to hurt her pride if he knew.

"Ah, I 'parently caught the climax of some show while I was lookin' around." Honestly, Yukio should suspect that she probably wasn't here of her own free will. "I knew I was caught up in something, but I didn't realize how tricky she was until it was too late."

He was hoping it wasn't something stupid, but he's not surprised that Shura got caught doing something she wasn't supposed to be doing.

"You and my brother both..." he shakes his head. He's judging you, Shura. "I was able to contract in exchange for something I wanted, though I won't know if the Ringmaster will be able to fufil her side of the contract until I go home."

She was doing recon!! Totally different than getting mad at some of the games!! And beside, when isn't he judging her for something or other.

"It ain't like I wasn't in the middle of somethin' back home, y'know! I thought it was a illusion or somethin'." Of course he's judging her, but really! In the middle of the damn Gehenna Gate coming down, Yukio in holding and Lightning missing... At least she's fairly confident that Rin was somewhere safe for the time being.

But his contract with the Ringmaster--he had mentioned it before. "You said it was somethin' to prevent possession, right?"

"I should be immune to possession." Which might not be able to... protect him from Satan, or get rid of Satan, but should help with anything else.

"I don't know... if it will do anything to..." He tries to look busy testing out the hot springs, one clawed hand dipping into the water. "Fix the situation with my eyes, but it might help manage it."

He doesn't know if he wants it fixed, he knows he wants answers and anything further than that is just a nebulous desire for power. But... if he can get power here at the carnival, he might not... he might not need to rely on any kind of demonic abilities at all.

It was a start... if it worked. Sure, the Ringmaster could haul the carnival from universe to universe, but Shura can't shrug off her doubts. Maybe the Ringmaster could stop Satan from possessing Yukio, but she couldn't stop Yukio from doing something stupid.

"Managin' it is a first step." But then what? That alone wasn't likely to satisfy him. Shura watches him, gaze lingering on his clawed fingertips. So just how were these changes determined? Yukio was picking up demonic features, she got a tattoo, Rin had a snout, and Shima got his dream of naturally pink hair. "You got an idea of what you're gonna do next?"

Yukio's racking up demonic features faster than he wants to think about them, flames marked across his face, claws and fangs. What's next, a tail? At least he can't see his own face in the mirror anymore, he doesn't have to look at the changes even if it means he... can't see his own face in the mirror, can't see any part of his body or even the clothes he's wearing. He doesn't even reflect in the pool, not so much as a shimmer.

"I'll figure something out." He always does. Right now, he just needs more data. He needs to know what's possible before he can start making a plan. "I need to learn more about what else the Ringmaster can do"

He's still planning on just winging it? That's incredibly reassuring to Shura. So reassuring that she's glad he isn't looking at her because he wouldn't be able to miss the vexed expression that flashes over her face. Still, he's talking to her, and that's good. Even if it was just going in circles with him, he hadn't shut her out yet. "'M sure that woman has plenty of tricks up her sleeve, even if they ain't useful." She'll give him a break for a moment after that, taking another glance around the area.

"Hey, they got some place to change here?" If not, he'd just have to deal with it shut his eyes for a few seconds.

"If it's useful, I can always extend my contract." Another year of avoiding his problems and running away.

At her question, he looks around. And there's... nothing. He covers his eyes with his dry hand and turns his head.

That's extremely not helpful, and if he extends his contract, so would Shura. Another year of being stuck with her at this weird place. But that's something she can wait a few minutes to bring up. Well, no big deal.

"Ain't like ya see me as a woman, anyway~" More like la diabla. At least Shura can strip down fast and slip into the spring, calling out to Yukio over her shoulder when she feels settled.

"Mm, it's so nice~ I missed this so much~" And then, without skipping a beat, "Four-eyes, you get in, too." She can shut her eyes if he complains, but seriously she wanted to see his butt about as much as he wanted to see hers.

"I didn't bring a towel." Yukio says. But...

Okay, fine, Shura's convinced him. He shrugs out of his uniform coat and strips down (waiting pointedly for Shura to look away or shut her eyes), then slides into the hot spring as well.

He sighs, relaxing into the bath, and sliding... maybe a little too far into the pool, just his head above the water.

"You'll dry, I promise." But whoa, he went in easier than she thought he would. Maybe being stuck at the carnival was doing him some good?

Nah, probably not. Shura laughs, stretching her arms out long over her head. There really wasn't anything better than a bath after work, and she is definitely going to take her time here. She shut her eyes for his fussy sense of dignity, but as soon as he's in, she'll cast a brief glance towards him.

"Nyaha, nice, right? You musta been trainin' for a while. I didn't even hafta nag ya!" Or physically drag him into the water.

"I'm not used to the bow yet," he admits, which is also an admission that he's really sore and really needed this.

A rare moment of almost-honesty. Shura's impressed.

"First the boy, then the sword. What else are you wearin' yourself out with?" Besides his anxiety, that was a given.

"Throwing knives. And a rifle, but that isn't anything new." And if he was worried about cutting himself on a sword, it's even worse with the knife. He's been extremely careful using it. "The Ringmaster has fairly strict limits on what weapons we can use, so it seems prudent to train with as many options as possible."

So when was he sleeping? He wasn't, of course. That's just how he did things.

"That so?" So the Ringmaster took his security blanket away, now he was forced to consider other options. Well, it couldn't be said that Yukio didn't adapt when things happened to him. It'd be nice if he just didn't jump to the most stupid and reckless plans. "An' you're workin' on picking up another couple meisters? You're gonna overwork yourself at this rate, y'know."

"I have the time," he says, because it's true. He has more than enough time here, more time than he knows what to do with. "Now that I've finished setting up the medical tent I don't have very much to do during the day except study and train."

He's still overworking himself.

"All work and no play's gonna make you go bald early, Four-eyes." Obviously, this should be something that matters a lot to Yukio. Wrinkles or going bald, his pick.

"It might." He's not going to let Shura get a rise out of him right now, not when he's doing something he wants to do (something he wants to do, not something anyone else is forcing him to do) and not when he's already starting to relax in the warmth of the hot spring.

Was he that into the hot water?

"Nyeheh, Grandpa Four-eyes." It's a test to see if he really is just ignoring her bait or if this is just one of his new strategies to goad her and try to get one up on her. If he's actually relaxing here, then she'd give him a little bit of quiet for a while.

"You're too old to be calling me grandpa." While the comment about her age might be too barbed to be a casual insult, his tone isn't vicious. He's... sort of relaxing here.

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im making you keep that typo

shura can roll with yukio exhausting himself with a boy it's okay

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