Video/Potentional Action. Abandoned amusement parks are dope.

[shoplifter]

[Some of you might get worried calls from Linda, Laura's tormented case worker.

The general questioning is: "HAVE YOU SEEN LAURA I HAVEN'T FOUND HER IN HOURS I'VE LOOKED EVERYWHERE."

But then, a Laura entry pops up sometime later in the day:

Her, looking curious, with the telltale signs of vegetation outside of city limits behind her.

She points the camera at the setting of the abandoned amusement park, some disappointment soon to be prevalent in her tone; she'd sneaked out and headed off to the Abandoned City or whatever people call it, mostly to get away from society and sort of marinate in her own thoughts. It's one of those months. Or many of those months. As much as she's tried adapting and appreciates her freedom, sometimes you just need to step away from it all and have your own time.

... In places Linda tells you not to ever sneak off to, of course.

Sue her, she never listens to her authority figures. She's not scared of monsters, anyway; she's already killed two getting here. It's why she's got some tar-colored blood on her sleeves and knuckles.]

We should repair this. I don't know what it is, but it looks like -- a fun place. Some of these have... strange wheels... and cars on railroads. ¿Para qué sirve? Do people who move trains practice here?

[She wanders around, her footfalls echoing in the isolated place. There's a rotted up old booth where you 'shoot' guns for prizes, but the signs are pretty overgrown with vines. She picks up a fake rifle and aims it at the blank target board beyond her, smacking on some bubblegum thoughtfully.]

Is it a place for soldiers to practice, too? It is very colorful for a soldier, but we had some color, too. They liked to put cartoons on the walls. Maybe there are cartoons on walls here, too... Maybe there are lights that make it bright. Like Vegas.

[..... Aha.

She points the camera up, up, up, toward the highest point of the ferris wheel.]

I think you see everything if you climb to the top.

[... I'mma climb to the top.]

[Feel free to have any ACTION threads as well; she's just wandering around, really, enjoying the quiet.]

Comments

[shoplifter]

A shuttle is a place, it doesn't count.

[She is not daunted by you being a semi-responsible adult trying to keep tabs on her.]

I can take care of myself.

[winscenario]

Don't say that! You might hurt her feelings.

[ Seriously girl, how dare you. His shuttle is his baby, she totally counts. ]

Well then, so can I. [ He grins a little wider, tipping his head at her. ] What are you doing out here anyway? The park isn't working yet, you know.

[shoplifter]

[Her eyes widen slightly and she looks to the ship -- it seems she's wondering if 'she' is in fact a living thing, perhaps something or someone who had mutated at some point... But then he continues on, and she glances at him once more.]

I like the quiet. I like being alone, sometimes.

[winscenario]

[ It's definitely not a living thing, Jim is just a gigantic ship nerd. ]

Mm. Me too. [ He nods. ] Hard to think with all those people around.

[ He cants his head a little, watching Laura. ] Have you ever been to an amusement park?

[shoplifter]

[She shakes her head.]

No. I haven't been many places.

It's for amusement?

[And here she thought it might've been some sort of training ground. Silly her.]

[winscenario]

[ Well the park's not working at least so she can do whatever she likes with it. Probably. ]

Yeah. There are several rides people take for fun. This is the roller coaster, for instance. [ He gestures to the ride in front of them. ] People take a seat in a car or get strapped to a chair, then the ride takes them really fast through the tracks, going up then taking steep falls, doing loops and sharp turns. It's a little scary for some people, but it's really exciting.

[shoplifter]

[Huh. She's honestly not sure if she'd like it or not.

Ever since earning freedom, nothing's been more important than feeling in control.

... But that also sounds really dope tbh.]

Do you like them?

[winscenario]

[ They're dope as hell, no lie. ]

I do, they're great fun. It's been a while since I've ridden one, though. [ He tips his head to the side. ] But my shuttle can do the same. More or less.

[shoplifter]

[She looks at the shuttle thoughtfully.]

You don't worry about crashing?

[Because boy, she's been on a hell of a car ride before; she can't imagine being skyborne on some of it.]

[winscenario]

No. I'm a very good pilot, and the shuttle is very safe.

[ Besides after crashing into a planet with a ship several times larger than the shuttle, the possibility of having to do a rough landing with the shuttle in the middle of the woods hardly scares him. ]

Are you scared of flying?

[shoplifter]

I don't know... I've never flown.

[She shrugs, thoughtfully gazing at the shuttle.]

I might panic and break things.

[She's at least honest about it, right?]

[winscenario]

We can fly really slow, if you want, and I'll land us again if you ask me to.

[ Of course he has no idea of the extent of her skills, or just how much damage she could really do to the shuttle. ]

So? [ He nods towards the shuttle. ] What do you say?

[shoplifter]

[She does take a moment to consider his offer, quite gravely...

... And her answer appears reached.]

Alright. I'll try it.

[It probably won't kill her if they crash. Probably.]

[winscenario]

[ Of course it won't. Jim's haid his fair share of crashes and rough landings and he's still here, so.

But more importantly, the shuttle's working just perfectly. There's no reason for them to get into any sort of accident. ]

Climb on in, then. [ He gestures for her to follow after him, as he steps back into the shuttle. ]

[shoplifter]

[And so, Captain Kirk has kidnapped a kid. He's practically The Doctor.

Laura looks plenty wary as she steps inside — her eyes roam the whole place the moment they've got the chance to.]

How does it work?

[winscenario]

[ Yes, only with better hair and a far less ridiculous fashion taste. Mostly.

He gives her a bit of time to look around all she likes, so she won't get overwhelmed or be startled when he fires up the engines. Once she asks how it works, he walks towards the front of the shuttle, where she can see four seats, two of which are right up at the front— the pilot seats. ]

I'll take this spot, you take that one. [ He gestures to both chairs, then takes a seat. ]

[shoplifter]

[Ah, alright. She plops down in the chair, eyes still roaming.]

Like a car.

[She puts on her cool cupcake sunglasses, as if that is a follow up comment.]

[winscenario]

[ Jim opens his mouth, closes it, then purses his lips with a shrug. ]

Sure. More or less.

[ Well, this part anyway. But once they're both strapped in and Jim fires up the engines, the shuttle lifting slowly and hovering just a few feet above the ground, she might start to notice a few differences. ]

[shoplifter]

[IT'S LIKE THE CHOO CHOO AH GOD-

No, wait, it's not too bad. She tenses slightly, but only slightly.]

We're floating now?

[Well, if there's any better time to crash this thing, it's a few feet off the ground, huh?]

[winscenario]

[ IT FLIES it's so much better than the choo choo. ]

That's right.

[ He turns on the inertial dampeners, so if and when they speed up, she won't actually feel anything. It should be a little less tense and stressful for her that way. He hopes. ]

Ready to go higher up?

[shoplifter]

[A firm nod.]

I am not afraid.

[Ready to murder things if need be, yes, but afraid? Not yet.

... She's extremely interested in what things look like from high up, though.]

[winscenario]

Good girl.

[ Jim smiles and winks at her, hopefully reassuring her that there's nothing to be afraid of. Slowly he starts guiding the shuttle higher up in the air, then very gently forward, so they're slowly flying over the stands and the smaller attractions of the abandoned amusement park. The wide window, going from the top to the bottom of the shuttle at the front, offers them both a pretty spectacular view of it all. ]

[shoplifter]

[She stares with an owlish, earnest gaze — tempted to unbuckle and practically press her nose to the window to see. Instead she abides by the seat belt, worried about making something go terribly wrong. The fact that this thing moves so smoothly certainly keeps her from climbing any walls.]

How high does it go?

[winscenario]

[ Jim wouldn't blame her, honestly. Part of him had worried she might be scared of heights, but evidently that's a moot point. Laura doesn't strike him as the type of girl to be scared of things that scare most kids anyway. ]

Oh... pretty high. Past the clouds, all the way up to the stars. [ He points a finger upwards, but doesn't even direct the shuttle towards the sky. ]

[shoplifter]

Are we going to go all the way up?

[Obviously this is the first thought that springs into her head.

She's never seen a star up close. It sounds interesting.]