⇨ Test Drive Meme: SPACE OLYMPICS

[ringleaders]

WELCOME TO THE SHOW!↴ Or, more specifically, Lost Carnival's test drive meme! This is an opportunity to try out your characters in the setting before you apply, or to put together samples for characters you've never played before. There are going to be options for both new arrivals and veteran characters. Before we get started, let's lay down some details: You can (and should) read the full premise here. Reserves and Applications are currently OPEN. Recruits can be either willing or tricked this month. You can apply as a newcomer or as a "veteran" character who has been in the carnival for up to three years. In the case of veteran characters, you will need to come up with an explanation of why they haven't been around the carnival recently. TDM threads can be used as game canon after the fact if both characters are accepted, the players agree to it, and it makes any sense contextually. If you are interested in additional IC and OOC plot responsibilities, consider applying for a Supervisor position. Head Cook, Foreman, and Treasurer are currently open. Otherwise, we're pretty much down for anything, roles wise. CURRENT STOP↴ ⇨ THE SPACE OLYMPICS ⇦ Welcome to the Space Olympics! The year is 3022. This year's host is Zargon, which is only hosting because the four previous hosts all dropped out. Still, Zargon's put lot of time and money into developing a complex perfect for the Space Olympics. Floating above the planet's atmosphere is a large spaceship turned athletic arena, obviously named Olympic Spaceship. Stadiums are on every corner, there's swimming pools every other block, and a large racetrack surrounds the city. Of course, not much about this matters to newcomers visiting the carnival, besides the wide array of weird aliens visiting alongside them. ► DIVERSITY: If you've arrived at the carnival without being aware that it was a separate world from your own, the presence of dozens upon dozens of aliens visiting its grounds may clue you in. All the big names from classic science fiction are here, apparently for some kind of sporting event? Wookies, Vulcas, you name it. Apparently they are from some kind of alternate reality where all of these species both exist in the same universe and are inclined to have sports competitions with each other. The multiverse is wild, ain't it? ► WIN OR RIOT: Along with sports comes bravado, and with a lot of alien races intermingling for the sake of competition, blood can run a bit hot. Don't be surprised if some fight break out before different species while visiting the carnival round, and also don't be surprised if you get mixed up in it. The carnival has security but, y'know. It's a busy day. Recruits from this month will be signing on with the carnival between Day 30 and Day 37 on the season calendar. They can appear in the carnival at any point during those days, or the week following if time distortions happen. NEW RECRUITS↴ You gotta start somewhere, right? These prompts are for characters who are arriving in the carnival for the first time, and who are destined to sign a contract. How they go about that is up to you, but in the meantime they can enjoy the sights and sounds of something truly out of this world. Will you become her most recent hire? ► ADMISSION FEES: After crossing into the carnival's realm and passing through the trees, most visitors will find themselves at the front gate - though not all choose to enter that way. If they enter legitimately, however, they will have to pass by a clerk who will trade admission and tickets for various attractions and rides in exchange for "anything of value." What is of value may seem highly subjective, and so some may struggle to produce payment at first, though in actuality the carnival will take anything from mundane currency to items of purely sentimental value. ► MIRROR MAZE: The mirror maze is a big attraction in the carnival, and stretches much further on the inside than it looks like it will on the outside. It's hard to get through, and what's more, after you've been in there for a while your reflections will start gaining a mind of their own - mostly in order to taunt and distract you with personal information. They don't know everything you know, but they know more than they should, and their mind games can be pretty hit or miss. ► GAMER'S CIRCLE: Almost all of the game booths are organized in a large ring around the Cookhouse, called Gamer's Circle. Your can play just about any carnival game you can imagine here, for a variety of prizes sometimes traditional, exotic, or outright magical. Dart tossing? Got it. That game with the water guns? Got it. Most of these booths are currently manned by humanoid spirits who look like they are made of smoke. If they can trick you into earning debt, they will. ► TUNNEL OF "LOVE": A brand new attraction in the carnival, the Tunnel of Love is mostly what you'd expect from such a ride - two people sit in a boat together which journeys through some glitter filled caves, complete with mood music. Unfortunately, there is also something else in there with you... in the form a moody kraken living in the waters, who has very particular opinions about shipping, and may either stubbornly interfere with any attempted intimacy, or may politely encourage it. Or they may just generally be a dick if they're in no mood for either. The Ringmaster insists it is a romance expert. ► TRYING TO LEAF: No matter where you came from, you seemingly emerged from a forest. Obviously, to get back home you should be able to go back in the same direction, right? It turns out you can't. Worse, trying too hard to get through the wood will result in you getting lost, or turned back to the carnival. The trees here are not normal, and are varying levels of alien, including things like trees with glowing fruit or orange flowers that constantly burn like candles. ► WILD CARD: Anything else you can imagine in this setting! There are a lot of possibilities and you're free to explore them. Check out the rest of the game info or the locations page for additional inspiration. Want to make a starter with your character experiencing their first theoretical change? Go for it! VETERAN WORKERS↴ These prompts are tailored to the carnival's existing employees, the veterans. Odds are they've been here from somewhere between a few months and three years already, and know their way around the block. For them, this is just business as usual - and depending on their attitude towards their job, they may or may not contribute to a few people accidentally getting themselves a contract. Whatever you do, though, don't warn visitors away from the carnival - the ringmaster hates losing business like that. ► DO YOUR WORK: This one's pretty simple - just have your character doing whatever you'd like to have their job be! There is a big list of ideas over here, and you could use this to try things out with a character you intend to be a new arrival, as well. ► BREAK TIME: Whatever you were doing, it's break time! It's time for you to relax however you see fit. Do you enjoy some of the carnival attractions yourself, or is that old by now? Do you hang out in the Cookhouse to get a snack? Do you take a nap? Yolo, baby! ► DUNK TANK: Sometimes acting like a dick will earn you the gentle reprimand of being sent to work in the Dunk Tank for the afternoon - you know that game where people throw balls at a target, and if they hit it you get dropped into the water? It's like that, only sometimes there are daunting (but harmless) critters in the water, or some other strange magical affects to spice things up. Hopefully, the visitors will have bad aim. ► WILD CARD: Anything else you can imagine in this setting! There are a lot of possibilities and you're free to explore them. Check out the rest of the game info or the locations page for additional inspiration. Want to do a performance? Hang out in the Backyard? Choose whatever appeals!

Comments

Yuusei Fudo | Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds | New Recruit

[alphudo]

[ADMISSION FEES: THE FRONT ENTRANCE]

It was merely a breath of fresh air at first. That was all it was supposed to be, and yet somehow...
The Signer War was over. The bridge was being built. What sort of longing was there to be had? This was practically a dream come true for him.
And yet something was clearly stirring within him, some sort of regret or restlessness, perhaps. A pressure of responsibility, maybe. Something that made him get up and walk off to go clear his head, and by the time he had the opportunity to really think on it, he saw the lights.

And from here, he can't help but approach this mysterious carnival in the distance. He knows it certainly shouldn't exist (for why would there be in a carnival in Satellite, and why now?), but there's a certain curiosity that wells within him, an excitement he's content to entertain with every footstep. Is this a child's eagerness, a desire for the loud sounds and luminescence brushing against the sky? Perhaps.

As interested as he may be in this place, he's not gonna just barge in. Nothing is free in life, and anything that is free should not be trusted. Martha taught him that much.
So when he reaches the front gates leading into the carnival, he doesn't bother trying to look for an unintended entrance, and for once in his life he happens to have money on his person. Being able to actually pay his own way is... oddly exhilarating in itself, in truth, as silly as that might be. It's a good feeling, though. Once he's actually inside, though...
Well, he's never been to a place like this before; what can he say except that he's overwhelmed with options?
So for now, he'll be lingering by the entrance trying to figure out just what the hell is going on.


[MISC: ADMIRING THE FERRIS WHEEL]

He's never actually seen a ferris wheel before - a real, full-sized ferris wheel - and he's blown away when he finally weaves his way through the crowds and comes upon it from its base. He doesn't really intend on riding it yet (the thought alone puts his stomach in knots, but he's sure he's been up higher still...), so for now he's perfectly content with just staring at it. He can't even begin to imagine how its intricate mechanics must work, and although he can probably figure it out eventually, it's just A Lot to take in all at once.
So for now he just looks at it, remaining out of the way of other patrons and mostly just off to the side, perhaps a little further off than he really should be, maybe...
And his eyes narrow, after some time, as he spots something that maybe looks a little too loose for comfort. He knows very little about carnival attractions, granted, but his gut feelings on machinery tend to be pretty good most of the time.
Unsure of what steps he should actually take with this, though, he just stares at this potential problem for a little bit longer, simply thinking.


[WILDCARD]
[hit me with your best shot honestly; he'll be wandering around the park periodically just Looking In Awe at stuff]

MISC OH BOY

[insidescoop]

To say that Carly recognizes Yuusei would be to say Carly recognizes most clothes at this point. It's a given. He's a 'given'. Or, well. He was the newly made duel champion (or 'King', really), who just dethroned Jack after a two year run. That was sort of a big deal.

And now, in a sea of aliens, he's...here?

The woman chokes part-way on her coffee immediately. Performance week is a slight down-time for the Wardrobe's tailoring section, since most focus is on prep for the performances and costumes needed to be done Ages ago. So she has more time to wander and possibly try any new rides set up for this particular location.

She's suddenly, who knows why, lost interest in that, and the marble-rainbow-hummingbird lady finds herself at lost for words.

And then finally-

"FFFffFff....FFF-FUDOU YUUSEI..!?!" HOLY SHIT

At least her voice, unlike literally everything, is the same.

IT BEGINS

[alphudo]

If nothing else, Yuusei sure has noticed the sheer variety of creatures around in this carnival, and he knows for a fact that this isn't normal; but given that this whole carnival by itself is clearly not normal, he's more or less just been taking things as they come to him. He was in the Underworld once, and while that trip was far from pleasant, he at least knew to (sort of) expect the unexpected. Unusual, unfamiliar things are going to be expected.

Therefore, the natural mirror to this mindset is that the familiar will be the unexpected, so when a very familiar voice reaches his ears, he's caught beyond off-guard, whipping around and taking a surprisingly lengthy time locating the source despite her... radiance.

Really, Yuusei was never fully acquainted with Carly. He met her once in a parking garage and promptly ditched her for the police to catch, and up until the Signer War, he never saw her again after that. Even during the War, he had only seen her when all of the Signers and Dark Signers had had a group confrontation, and after that she had it out with Jack and that was the end of it. It had taken Jack a great deal of time - two months after the end of the War and about a month and a half into the construction of the bridge - to finally get Carly to introduce herself properly to the rest of the Signers, although Yuusei hardly faulted his hesitance, for Carly had no memories of her time as a Dark Signer. As far as he's currently aware, she never remembered, and she had continued her life normally as if nothing had even changed.

So needless to say, he's squinting a little when he catches sight of Carly in this carnival crowd looking like she does. Surely, part of him thinks, this isn't Carly. With all of the weird folks around in this strange night-life world, surely he could've just had the dumb luck of running into someone who looks like her.

...but then, one might also reason that such chances would be dramatically lower in such a setting, and what are the odds of a coincidental double knowing his name? Regardless, he's definitely had his attention removed from the ferris wheel as he gawks at this person who is very definitely Carly, mouth slightly agape as he grasps for literally anything to say in this situation.

"...do... Do I...?" His eyes narrow further. "C... Carly...??"

[insidescoop]

Carly expected Yuusei to recognize her about as much as she expected the aliens being hosted to. Which is to say, not at all. No doubt that the line up meeting was only an identified moment in Yuusei's mind thanks to Jack himself, but the fact was, as far as memory went there was only one other moment in time that they'd seen the other.

And that was when he'd sort of ditched her to be taken in for police questioning. So. Fun times. Regardless, being addressed by name has her puff quite marvelously up, various liquid-like feathers rising in the tension. "Thf-bf- That- Of course I'm Carly!! Who else would I be, other than Carly!!" She frantically stammers, as if she weren't so tall that she were almost a foot above the other. "That didn't even answ-"

The woman blinks, and quite owlishly. "W...wait, you...remember my name..?" Wait a min- "Di- DID I EVEN INTRODUCE MYSELF BACK THEN!?!? HEHHH?!"

[alphudo]

Okay, he now at least has it confirmed for himself that this is indeed Carly, but still! Yuusei is very noticeably taken aback by the sudden, er... Everything about Carly, actually, aside from what's normal (although her getting all excited isn't admittedly helping Yuusei himself keep calm, uncharacteristic as it is for him to be so worked up over something).

"Never mind names," he strains, making a couple sharp gestures toward Carly's entire lightshow. "Wh- what is-" His fingers curl into fists, then uncurl again. "What!?"

Significantly flustered, he moves back against the rails weaving the short ferris wheel line around, burying his face in his hands. 'Alright, let's... Okay... Start slow, one thing at a time.' He glances back up to Carly. "You're Carly, and I'm Yuusei, and I know you're Carly because Jack introduced us a few months ago." He pauses. "...mm, a few months ago on my end. But you don't seem to have known that, and given... -" (he gestures to All Of Her again) "-I'm going to bet that introduction just... never happened?"

It's nice to at least state some of the more obvious things first.

[insidescoop]

"Heeehhh?! Of course he didn't introduce us, we were never in the same sp-"

It is of course, half way through her own sentence that she realizes what else Yuusei has actually said. The man is not a loud person by any means-nor a particularly...emotional one, as much as shock ha raised his voice. But minute clenching and the subtle way he has backed right off are tells all the same, and she brings herself to silence-slowly making an 'o' sort of expression before slowly bringing her hands to her face. "Ohhhhhh...ohhhh you're after my time, just like before..." With Jack. With Crow, especially, (HOO! that had not gone well, good thing she had white and rainbow colours these days...) But anyway.

"Aaaah...If it explains anything, that...probably still happened?" She laughs nervously. "AhhahaaaaI mean...I think it would make a pardox, anyway, um...I was picked up in the Netherworld~ When I was dead, from before~" She. Sounds so cheerful about this (then again, how could one blame her...)...

"Ah-hmmm..." She coughs, taking a more serious tone. "It's alright, I promise, ok? I'm just working here right now, and faerie magic affects how you look after a while, ahehehhh...." Oh please take this better than Jack... (Then again, when Jack drove in he figure it out on his own and asked for POWER BEYOND POWER...)

[alphudo]

Yuusei's brow furrows with a frown, curious about that 'just like before' bit, but beyond that he certainly seems to be... less fazed than he was at first. Which, in the grand scheme of things, is probably a very good thing.

Quiet he is for a little bit, mostly nodding to himself as he processes the things Carly has said to him thus far. Although this leaves a rather lengthy silence between them, it at least seems somewhat apparent that he hasn't just spaced out or is ignoring her or something. If she was picked up in the Underworld, then he was likely just picked up about five months after her, and if she was back by the time he left (or rather, right now for him, or something), then that means they do in fact return eventually, right?

Even when someone's employed here, apparently.

He crosses his arms and stares long and hard at Carly, trying to take her features in from here. She is bright, and based on what he remembers of her after Jack introduced the two of them, that at least fits her personality quite soundly. There are so many questions reeling through his mind, and although 'faerie magic' does settle them surprisingly easily (for now), he still feels the need to say something on the matter, anything...

Maybe it's the rush of wonder the carnival has inflicted upon him that makes him smile a little in spite of things, in spite of the sheer oddity of it all. "Well... You look pretty damn good for being... dead on arrival."

[insidescoop]

Okayyyy...ten seconds...twenty...she honestly starts holding her breath at one point, though that hardly lasts. At the end of it however...

D. Dead...on arri-

She blinks, and lowering her hands, actually squints at him for a moment. She...doesn't really KNOW him of course but... "I.... ....I can't tell of that was or wasn't deliberate..." She mutters, before quickly shaking that off with her hands. "Ahh-! Not the point, phew! Yuusei," she cuts in, hands back down, and eyes looking to him seriously. "At the front gate...did you pay admission?" This is sort of key-and, well, if he didn't, it Can in fact be too late to do so...

[alphudo]

It takes the first ten-ish seconds for the smile to vanish from his face in a moment of realisation that wow, that was probably in extremely poor taste! Good on you, bud. His head dips a little, breaking eye contact and searching somewhat desperately for something else to look at. A shame Carly's so vibrant these days; it's genuinely hard to keep his eyes away from her.

Yuusei glances back to her briefly, an eyebrow raised. "Yeah, I paid. Should I not have?" His eyes finally settle on something to look at again - and it just so happens to be that part of the ferris wheel again. He leans a little over the railing once more, glancing between the loose piece and Carly while pointing. "Hey, you said you work here, right? Is that supposed to be like that, do you know?"

[fortuneglass]

"Actually, paying is exactly what you should have done!" she cheers, breathing a sigh of relief. "...So good job, on that. There's a lot of people who...don't." At all. Ever. "And that means they're in debt so..." An awkward sigh. Well, she doesn't get the chance to explain what debt means in any case, simply blinking over at the part.

"Ah-! Hmn! Well...it's not my department, but I'm pretty sure that's...an issue. Mmm...One moment," she hums, darting off without thought-not only is she floating, she quickly fades into a flurry of feathers-

-from which a white and gold hummingbird makes off to elsewhere. It soon returns, restoring itself back to her shape. "Okay..~! A cindersprite has been notified, and they'll get someone from engineering... ...Good eye~! Ahh...hmmn." Well. Now what. "...Ahhh...so. Are you enjoying things at least..?"

Nice one Carly.

[alphudo]

"...ah." He nods in understanding, even if he doesn't fully understand what Carly means by 'debt' (although he doesn't know that yet). In a place like this, he's hardly surprised debt would be tracked and managed in some way. "Nothing is free in this world."

Yuusei blinks and raises his hand when Carly moves to leave, "Ah, I can probably ta-" and then she's gone, and the look on his face when she gets back can probably only be described as incredulous. At least he doesn't seem horrified or anything. "...faerie magic," he states simply, as if that phrase holds all the answers that he needs at this point. He gives a nod and stares back at the ferris wheel once more, up at it this time.

"I... er..." His lips purse momentarily. "I haven't admittedly done much since I've been here. I've never seen something like this place before, so I haven't really... been sure of how to spend this time. What about you, though? You said you work here, don't you? Are you happy here?"

[fortuneglass]

She has that thought-nothing free-in mind as she darts off. And she's quite quickly back. "It's a Faerie thing," she explains-perhaps answering both that statement from earlier, and the second one in a single go. "Actually, it's a pretty lenient end of Faerie things.!" she adds, crossing her arms in thought. Ahhh. "Working here can get you...pretty much anything, just for a year..."

But any way. "Hehh!? Your fi- ...Ah, right," she coughs, recalling where Yuusei was from. "Hmmm, in that case...this is a place you're meant to have fun! Go on the rides, play some games...you let loose! Enjoy yourself! That's what the Carnival is for-it travels dimension to dimension, to bring entertainment to all kinds of people! Like you~" she adds, winking gleefully.

Ahem. "But I'm definitely having fun here, thank youuuu~" she sings, floating side to side a bit as she shines a little brighter. "Actually, I'm the current Wardrobe manager~ So I've been doing a lot behind the scenes, which is really nice! I get to make people look their best for every show!"

...Mmm.

"...If...you haven't done anything though, maybe....you'd take a suggestion?"

[alphudo]

"Just for a year? Anything?" Just what is this place capable of, exactly? Given the changes Carly's gone through, he can hardly even begin to imagine what some other folks might be like and what they can do. He wonders if anyone else is here...

"A dimension-travelling carnival..." Yuusei says little else in response, admittedly, but while his mind feels like it's running blank to him, it's very obvious he's thinking about... something. Something he can't really even quite nail down. There's a dull aching in his chest and the squeezing of his throat, but he doesn't know where it's coming from. He feels something deep down, but the cause is entirely unknown.

Yuusei smiles faintly once again as Carly floats happily, and his eyes seem to light up a little when she proudly declares her title. "That... That's great. Really, I..." He just stands there, seemingly content. Seemingly happy.

Whatever he was going to say is lost as he tilts his head a little, his expression dropping into an inquisitive frown of sorts. "A starting point might be nice, mm... You work here; what's your suggestion?"

[fortuneglass]

"Right!~ For example....my first contract here, was to keep my memories once the Crimson Dragon brings me back~ Since apparently I. Was going to forget."

There is. A pause.

"...And apparently I'm going to lie about that..." she mutters, pouting for her own benefit. But she throws it off quickly, eyes wide and bright again as she points up. "Really, if it's 'something' and it's not impossible, the Ringmaster will probably agree to it! So the sky's not even the limit!"

That's...Impressive. But that said-the question. "The Ferris Wheel isn't in 'vital' danger right now...so we could ride this one~! The rides are more magical than normal carnival rides too...so it'll be really really good, I promise~!"

[alphudo]

Yuusei nods slowly, a vaguely-solemn expression on his face. "That would... be correct, unfortunately," he murmurs just loud enough for her to hear. But he certainly doesn't throw those comments aside once they've been said, though; they'll be staying in the back of his mind throughout the night, mulling themselves over and over...

Maybe it's the fantastic nature of the carnival that draws him in further. Maybe it's something else entirely.

"Magical..." Likely literal in this case, too. His eyes following one of the carts descending with the turning of the wheel, he hums faintly. "...well, I suppose no matter how well or poorly this goes, every other ferris wheel will be less enjoyable for me after this." There's a twinkle in his eye. "If, of course, this one is as good as you claim."

[insidescoop]

Good, good, his hearing is not inhuman and her mutterings remain Her Own. That's a big bomb to drop after all. Regardless. She waves Yuusei over into the line, so they can get ready for the ride.

"Don't worry about the memory thing, ok? It works out..! Or. Well, it will. I already worked that one off after all~ So there's plenty to look forward to. For now..." They're loading the gondolas, which means group by group, people are being loaded on.

Eventually, they'll be next. "...You'll see just how magical it really is~ Trust me~"

Ferris Wheel

[dressedtothe]

9S doesn't have much to do in terms of dealing with the various Carnival guests; he's not a performer, nor is he in a job that actively requires him to deal with them. In fact, he actively shirks his repairman duties... though he's getting marginally better about that.

In fact, he spends a lot of his time people watching. That's what he came to the Carnival for originally, after all.

But this guy... he's been staring real hard at the ferris wheel for a real long time. What's up with that? So 9S approaches.

"If you're so interested, you can go for a ride on the ferris wheel, you know."

Unlike many of the other Carnival staff, he doesn't look that different from a human. Other than the fact there are feathers threaded through his hair and his eyes are covered with what looks like a blindfold, he would look like a perfectly ordinary human.

[alphudo]

"I do," Yuusei replies as he takes steps in line with Carly's own, staring down as his feet alternate slowly, only as often as they need; while Carly never takes a step at all, instead hovering over the ground, gliding smoother than if she was on ice. Everything she does, all that's changed about her, mystifies him. He feels rude staring so obviously at herself (at her legs especially, how awkward!), but it all just draws him in further.

They're nearly there now, about to board. "I trust you." Although he doubts it'll be as marvellous as she is now. He just has a hunch, but he's sure it'll be great nonetheless. Never has he felt so... certain of something like this. Certain he's in for a good time, a genuinely great time.

[alphudo]

Yuusei doesn't seem particularly interested in this fellow approaching him at first, seeming as though he doesn't even hear him the first time. In truth, he doesn't really realise he's being spoken to in the first place, but when he does figure it out, his head snaps up and looks over his shoulder. He blinks at 9S, chalks the feathers up to a decoration or something related to the alien guests around, and looks back to the ferris wheel. He opens his mouth to speak, but on account of the blindfold, he hesitates. Reworks the words in his head, tries again.

"Something just looks a bit loose," he says, "is all."

He pauses again, wondering just how much he should really bother saying. He has no need in wasting a stranger's time. Maybe it's the festival air, though, that has him talking just a little more. "My tools are gone; I'd try to fix it myself otherwise."

...he has been thinking about it a lot. He'd at least tell someone first, of course.

[fortuneglass]

What can she say Yuusei? She's eye catching. What is perhaps more eye-catching is the one manning the ride however, ushering them onto the gondola, the cindersprite seems about Yuusei's size, and appears as little more than humanoid ash. They say nothing, and do nothing more than go through the motions of allowing them on, with Carly hurrying into a seat before waving for Yuusei to join in.

And once the door closes, they'll slowly be brought upward. Until then...conversation time. "So...did you actually come here alone..?" she manages to ask, blinking. "AH- N-Not that you don't seem the type to enjoy things! Er...well I guess I wouldn't know 'what type' you are at all..." she mutters, squinting. "...But that's not the point..!!"

"...You didn't seem much for crowds, from what I saw. That's all." Bye Interviews, B y e...

[alphudo]

Yuusei lags behind for a moment, walking a bit slower in his effort to get a better look at the ashy figure. He soon hurries to join Carly, however, the awkwardness of lingering and potentially holding up the line pushing him forward.

He sits next to her but leaves enough room between them so that no part of them touches the other. He stares at his own legs, one tensed as if prepared to cross over its opposite while unsure if that's what he really wants to do. His hands fold in his lap, his thumb rubbing the side of his index finger.

"You'd be right on both counts," he replies, his gaze mostly trained on some of the other rides and booths in the general space beyond the ferris wheel's enclosure. "...I didn't come here on purpose. I mostly just... showed up."

He stretches his legs out in front of him and his arms up, careful not to accidentally brush Carly's shoulder or something similar. "I don't mind it, though. It's a nice change of scenery..."

[fortuneglass]

"Mnhhh...that's about how people come here, really..! At least, when we're not on-location...The Carnival...mnnh..." How does she describe it? It's something even she doesn't entirely understand, only remembering what comes from stories passed between fellow coworkers, and looking for similarities between. "...It's a place you can find when...you don't know where to go, I guess," she shrugs, leaning back against the gondola seat. "For some people, they just need to be able to enjoy themselves for a while..! For others...they take on a contract to learn new, crazy things that they wouldn't have been able to do before! And others just want to look cool I guess," she adds, shrugging. "Some people stay, and others go, but..."

Well. They're not quite at the top yet, but they're starting to be able to look over the Carnival more and more now. "...I guess you could say a 'change of scenery' is how it starts for most of the people here...either because they didn't know where to go, or because they wanted anywhere to go but the place they were in..."

[alphudo]

He doesn't respond at first, beginning to look up at the sky now. The lights becoming smaller down below is something he's never really see before. He's been up on high buildings, sure, but the slow rotation of the ferris wheel is entirely foreign. Had he not been through so much, the distance off the ground might have nauseated him.

He eventually nods slowly, as if in agreement with what Carly has said. "...there's a bridge," he says, "one that was going to be built to connect Satellite and Neo Domino. It... it's finally happening, and it's great..."

There's a pause of anticipation, an unspoken 'but' in the air. Dissatisfaction.

"...no one expected it to be an instant transition. Hopes like that..." As brutal as it might be to think, they only end up disappointing people. He heaves a deep sigh. "Still, the hostility of the people in Neo Domino is... disheartening..."

[fortuneglass]

"Ahh... ...Right, Jack mentioned..." Ah- spoilers, spoilers, she coughs behind a hand. "Mnh...W-Well, I'm sure it'll turn out right, in that case..! I mean... ...nothing is immediate, normally," she coughs, "...But even when it seems to be going terribly... ...Things tend to come around, they really do..!"

It's a lot easier for her to think this positively, having come right out from the Void experience. It touched her soul, and darkened it, certainly-but it left...a certain clarity as well.

Things could be far, far worse. And until then, it could absolutely come back around to the 'light'. "And you know...I bet you'll be able to work with a lot more now too~ You..." Hmmm. She thinks for a moment. "...You noticed that thing at the base, the loose part, for a reason right? ...You must work with things like that already, right?" She's looked after Yuugo a while, she knows this sort of behavior. "You'll have lots to work with~ Ahh..."

Well. Her immediate enthusiasm fades, but the genuine smile does not. "...People are hostile...even within Neo Domino, people are hostile to each other, but... ...I think, with a bridge like that...it'll make a big difference to the people it matters most to. A good one."

[alphudo]

Yuusei nods with a small smile of his own, but it's the faintest thing. He doesn't say it, but he believes her in that. The suffering endured by those who lived in Satellite will not last forever; of that, he has to be certain. In the end, good will prevail in the world. Change just isn't immediate. That's all.

His smile broadens a little more. "Mm, very often. I built my own d-wheel while I was still in Satellite." He's a little disheartened he wasn't able to fix the ferris wheel himself, honestly, but desiring to do so is an impossible event and a fool's errand, ultimately. But still he can't help but wish he could do more...

His smile fades, but there's still warmth in his eyes. "I think, though... I guess I brought it up because I... think that might be why I'm here." He takes another deep breath of the cool night air. "Even if it'll come to sort itself out eventually, it's still... exhausting... Draining, even... I guess I just needed to get away from it for awhile."